Hylian Twilight
by Shelomith
Summary: Set fifteen years after Twilight Princess. On the road to self-redemption, the resurrected Ganondorf joins Link's daughter in a conspiracy to overthrow tyrannical Princess Zelda.
1. Prologue

Dear readers, thank you for taking the time to select this story to read, which is my second fanfic. Please note that the geography of Hyrule is based off the Wii version of _Twilight Princess._

* * *

* * *

**PROLOGUE**

**_Where is Zant now?_**

Midna had not killed Zant when she had faced him with Link. He was still very much alive, thanks to the half of the Triforce of Power given to him by his god. When Midna delivered the supposedly fatal blow, he teleported away to his secret lair in the world of light.

Zant had long formulated his own agenda, independent of the one devised by his god, Ganondorf. He planned to not just take over the world of light and add it to the Twilight Realm, but to _destroy_ it - destroy the spoiled citizens of the realm blessed by the gods, who oppressed his ancestors the Gerudo, forced them into the desert, and then shoved them into another realm when they were simply trying to scrape out a living for themselves by theiving. 

He would have to break free of Ganondorf somehow to pull this off, and his opportunity came when he (Ganondorf) was fighting the boy Link in Eldin Field, and Link had mortally wounded Ganondorf. Zant was able to watch through a magic mirror in his lair, so he saw it all.

"Do not think this ends here . . ." Ganondorf groaned with his dying breath. "The history of light and shadow will be written in blood!"

And then, Ganondorf gave up his half of the Triforce of Power; the mark vanished from his hand. At that moment, Zant's hand began to glow with the mark of the Triforce, the top triangle emphasized.

His eyes met those of Zant, even through the mirror. Zant slowly nodded towards the dying man.

"You grew too dependent on me, Ganondorf . . . what a shame. Now, you will die."

_Crack._ Zant snapped his neck, and with that, his god had died like a mortal.

* * *

Zant had eliminated one of three people that could possibly stop him: one-third of the first step of his plan completed. Next, he needed to meet back with his old friend, Zelda. He and Zelda had met and staged the battle in the throne room, Zelda not telling her troops what was going on; all they were aware of was a meeting of all the high-ranking military officials, and this guy in a fish helmet and his demon monsters attacked.

He had told Zelda that he was in love with the ruler of the Twili, Midna, and that he couldn't marry her and become king because of his unpopularity with the public. Zelda was intrigued by the existence of another realm and instantly became interested in merging the two realms. She spoke to Midna, who didn't like the idea of merging the two worlds, saying that light and shadow couldn't mix. Infuriated that things weren't working out, Zant attacked Midna and put a curse on her before leaving the Twilight Realm and breaking the Mirror of Twilight into four pieces behind him. When he saw Midna in the world of light, he knew there was another way to travel between realms. What it was, he wasn't sure of.

Once the scheming duo reunited, they planned to submerge Hyrule in twilight again until it was completely like the Twilight Realm, after eliminating all that could stop them. Then, the two would use their pieces of the Triforce to realign the realms to be next to one another geographically in one world. The equation was only missing one variable: Link, who held the Triforce of Courage.

* * *

Link went home to Ordon and married his childhood friend Ilia, and they had a baby daughter when Zelda summoned Link to the castle. First, she invited him and his family to move to Kakariko Village, which was closer to Castle Town and her. Once there, she called him back to the palace and made him aware of her plan. He flat out refused to lend his power to this scheme, even when Zelda pointed out he'd see Midna again. In anger, she imprisoned Link for fifteen years.

Even though they didn't have all three pieces of the Triforce, two of the three people that could possibly stop them were out of their way.

* * *

It was towards the end of Link's imprisonment that Zant found out how Midna made it to the world of light: she left a white baton with a curled hilt with Link. The baton conducted heavenly voices that sang different pitches when one conducted a certain song. Midna conducted a song that opened a portal between the worlds to arrive into the world of light, and she left it with Link prior to leaving. When he saw it, Link said that it was one of Midna's possessions that was with the royal family of the Twili always, and he didn't know what function it served. However,Zant did, and he knew what song would open the portal. He conducted it and stepped into the Twilight Realm.

* * *

Midna was sitting in her throne room, humming her song and thinking of Link. He'd be about thirty now, probably a seasoned warrior, he and his friends in favor with Zelda. Hevery likelymarried that Ilia girl because she couldn't be with him. She remembered curling up against him when he was a wolf and asleep, sleeping with him. . . the snowball fight after finding the Mirror shard at Snowpeak . . . teasing Oocca in the City in the Sky . . . .

Suddenly, the throne room door opened. She looked up, then gasped in shock. "_Zant?"_

"Yes, it is me, Princess, I am very alive."

"But, how? You died - I killed you -"

"The Triforce is stronger than the Fused Shadows, my dear," said Zant, walking slowly towards Midna. "Now, Ganondorf is good and gone, and I can claim all that is rightfully mine! And I mean _all_."

"Zant, we're done, I told you. We're not getting married. I regret our relationship. You are nothing to me!"

"Do you think those words will make me desire you less, my sweet? I know you still love Link. Heh heh . . . fine then. You'd think you would have learned by now not to toy with me -" with a wave of his arm, Midna fell to the ground and shrunk into a little imp with spiky orange hair. Zant picked up imp Midna, pulled a knife out of his sleeve, and cut off her hair.

"Zelda told me this is where the bulk of your power comes from," said Zant. "Now, you can join your beloved Link in the dregs of the dungeons in Hyrule!"

All three of the possible opposition was gone. Or so he thought. For at that moment, a teenage girl was digging for rupees in Eldin field and made a remarkable discovery.


	2. One

**ONE**

Ketura threw on a kelley green blouse, some black pants, a black jacket, and a pair of black boots before grabbing her shovel and heading out for Eldin field. She lived by herself, and at fifteen years old was too young for a job, so she went out to the field to dig up rupees; there was always some buried out there.

She lived by herself because her father had vanished when she was a baby, and her mother had died a year ago as she tried to repair a hole in the roof - she got too close to the edge and fell off, breaking her neck. The other villagers left the orphaned girl alone (they all assumed she was an orphan, and she assumed along with them) since she was responsible and could take care of herself.

Aside from the fragmented family, Ketura was always a puzzle to the other villagers in Kakariko. She would rarely come out of her house during the day, and when she did, it was to go to the graveyard to pray for her mother. The only other time the girl would come out was at dusk, when the bright orange Hylian twilight matched her beautiful hair. During this time, she would hit the Malo Mart before it closed to buy food and other necessary items. Then, if money was short, she'd go dig for rupees in the field north of the village.

"Why is twilight so appealing to this girl?" the suspicious villagers asked.

"You don't think she's _his_ daughter, do you?"

If Ketura had heard the latter question asked, she could have learned the identity of her father.

--

As the sun set on Hyrule, Ketura ran out to the middle of the field, the Bridge of Eldin to the north, Hyrule Castle to the east, and a newly constructed colossal tower soaring above it.

She thrust her shovel into the earth and began digging, sifting through the dirt for rupees. She found a green one, another green one, a blue one, a yellow one, a purple one. The purple one caused her to smile, for they were rare. After digging a few feet, she filled the hole back up and stuck a yellow rod in the dirt, showing that she already dug here,like she hadwith the western edge of the field along the Zora's River.

Ketura moved a few feet northeast and began to dig again. A couple of red rupees and a yellow rupee. She moved on a little west and found some more purple rupees. In her last spot for the night, she didn't find any rupees for at lest five feet of earth, but then, something white glowed at her.

"A silver rupee?" she wondered in disbelief of her good fortune. She reached down to grab it, but upon doing so, she saw that it wasn't a rupee. Curious, she dug around it until she saw what it was: a dead body.

The white spot on its chest was a wound. He was dressed in dark garments that matched the color of his skin, his firy red hair was matted with dirt, and his eyes must have rolled into the back of his skull.

Ketura squealed, then hastily filled the hole back up. "DearGods, please, forgive me fordefiling this man's grave. Do not let his spirit be restless,but find peace at last."Once done, she turned to go home (for it was almost completely dark) but she heard the sound of shifting dirt, only to dismiss it as a leever. Leevers never harmed her.

Footsteps, other than her own. She picked up the pace to a brisk walk, almost a run. In the act of disturbing this man's grave, did she cause him to rise like a Redead and pursue her?

He was growing closer. She finally stopped and turned around, swinging the shovel to hit him. Instead, he quite simply grabbed the shovel as it swung, yanked it from her grasp, and casually tossed it behind him.

"You honestly didn't intend to attack me, did you?" he asked her. She nodded apprehensively.

"I understand your fear, girl. It's not every day someone is raised from the dead."

"But how? Why?" she questioned, staring into his eyes, which were a yellow-orange hue.

"I believe your words were something along the lines of 'Do not let his spirit be restless, but find peace at last.' I did some things I'm not proud of in my past life, and I want to make amends. Until then, I cannot be at peace.

"You resurrected me. The gods must really like you."

Ketura didn't know what to say. Because of her prayer, this man had risen from the dead, and he wanted to correct the bad things he had done - so she understood. Did she have some special power or something?

"Uh . . . come home with me," she finally said.

--

Ketura led the man back to her house in the village. It was modestly made with brick and a thatched roof, with a porch and two windows on either side of the door. Inside, the walls, floor, and furniture were made of wood. A rocking chair and a settee sat in front of a fireplace, whose fire wasn't burning currently. The kitchen was nearby, and a ladder led to the second floor of the home, where her bed was.

"Do you want something to eat?" she asked him. He shook his head before sitting down on the settee.

"You sure have some nerve, to invite a complete stranger into your home," commented the man.

"Someone has to be a good neighbor. Say, what's your name?" asked Ketura.

He paused for a moment, contemplating whether or not to reveal this information. "Ganondorf."

"In school, I learned of a Ganondorf who lived over five hundred years ago. He was the king of a tribe of female thieves, and he tried to conquer Hyrule. He was the first man to touch the Triforce, and he was defeated by a time-traveling boy from the forest."

"That would be me," said Ganondorf; he looked at Ketura's indifferent expression. "Girl - "

"My name's Ketura," she said bluntly, striking two stones together over the fireplace to start a fire.

"All right, Ketura," Ganondorf corrected himself. "Do you remember that the sages and the Princess Zelda of then sealed me in another realm, along with the rest of my tribe, except for Nabooru, who was a sage? No, you don't know of our banishment? Pity."

"We were told that the Gerudo were no longer able to find men to marry among the Hylians, so they died out."

"Lies. All of it. It was terrible, watching my people suffer in the perpetual twilight of our hell, and only I didn't grow into a Twili because of the Triforce of Power that the sages could not take from me after I killed the Zora sage. The tribe held on to our Gerudo tribal magic and prospered, and they began to bear sons along with daughters. The Twili feel nothing; the adaptation of their ancestors has numbed them to all feeling. However, a select few do . . . . How familiar are you with the events of fifteen years ago?"

"I am fifteen years old; I was not alive then. I guessthat is when you died and were buried in the field?"

"Very true; another boy, about your age, who I heard from my cohort was blessed by the gods so that the twilight he set over the world didn't affect him, did me in. You have his eyes . . . blue, like those of a sacred beast . . . tell me, who is your father?"

"I have no idea who my father was, he left when I was a baby. You knew my father?"

"I can only assume that boy, Link, is your father. But I guess he is on a quest for Princess Zelda."

Ketura spat on the ground upon hearing Zelda's name. "My mother told me that she called him away from us. Not to mention she is a despot. She laid heavy taxes on us to build the tower that hovers over the castle, she censors our books, regulates our religion, and forces young men to register for the draft at the age of thirteen." She spat again.

"It figures," sighed Ganondorf. "I aim to find Link, apologize to him for dragging him into all of this, then apologize to Midna for my sins of five centuries ago, and Zant too."

"Zant? As in Zelda's -" _spit_ "co-ruler Zant, who always wears a tall metal helmet and has this aura of fear about him?"

"Zant is really who killed me, not your father, so please don't think ill of him. He did the bulk of my dirty work, and I guess he had his own plan that he could accomplish by killing me." Ganondorf sighed. "Enough talking. I'll be going now." He got up and headed for the door.

"Stop," Ketura sprang to the door to block his way. "I want to go with you, so I can see if Link really is my father."

"Well, all right, but what about your mother?"

"Long dead. I have nothing here, the townspeople think I'm odd, the kids my age want nothing to do with me - they think I'm unlucky because of my lack of parents - and I have to dig for money."

"Well, Ketura, if you're coming, you have five minutes to prepare, or I'm going without you."

Ketura ran into the kitchen, packed some bread and fruit into a knapsack, filled a canteen with water, then headed upstairs to her bed. Hanging above it was a sword crested with goat horns. Wondering whether she'd need it, she took it down, and strapped it around her waist. She proceeded to open the top drawer of her nightstand, where a black crystal with glowing orange lines was kept ina glass vial. She had no idea what it was, but she kept it in here, because it must have been her father's, and now it was going with her. Finally, she took the picture on the nightstand and put it in another bag with the crystal. It showed a young couple, whom she supposed were her parents. The girl was recognizable as her mother, Ilia, and the boy must have been her father; he was handsome, with big eyes that must have been blue like his daughter's.

--

"Do you recognize this boy?" she asked Ganondorf as they left the village, their way illuminated by the old lantern kept in the house. Upon leaving, Ketura posted a sign saying "I AM GOING AWAY FOR SOME TIME TO FIND MY FATHER" on the door of her house before locking it up. She then showed him the picture of her parents.

"As a matter of fact, I do," he answered. "It's Link, all right."

--

As the carraige pulled up to the entrance of Kakariko Village, the driver saw two travelers with a lantern heading northeast to the Bridge of Eldin. He had no time to ask them where they were going at this time of night; his primary duty was to dump the prisoner off and go back to Castle Town.

"We're here, Link," said the driver. "Be good, because you wouldn't want to be back for another fifteen years would you?"

"Neh," mumbled Link tiredly as he stepped out of the carraige. He watched it turn around and drive off back to Castle Town. He breathed the fresh night air, enjoying his freedom. He was going to go back into town, but he saw the travelers. One appeared to be a girl, the other a man. Although he couldn't make out any details in the moonlight, he recognized the man's build.

"Ganondorf," he muttered. Without a thought, he walked their way and followed them.


	3. Two

**TWO**

Ketura and Ganondorf stopped at the Bridge of Eldin before taking a rest. They climbed into the tower on the east side of the bridge and sat down there.

"So, if we're going to find my dad, where's the best place to begin?" asked Ketura.

"I was thinking that we should go to the castle. Yes, Ketura, she's the last person in the world I want to see either, but she is the reason your father left, therefore she'd know where he went. She won't be too thrilled to see me, so you can go see her. Say that when you were a newborn, your father was summoned to the castle and never came back, and you want to know what became of him. Don't forget to mention his name."

"Who's Midna?" Ketura asked him.

"Midna is the Twilight Princess, ruler of the Twili in their realm, descendants of the Gerudo. She was victimized by Zant and helped your father on his journey. I almost killed her when she defied me. Power makes you mad. See here," he used his finger to draw the Triforce in the dirt. "The top triangle represents power. The triangles Wisdom and Courage are on the bottom, supporting Power. It is set this way because in order to truly have power, you also need wisdom and courage. Why I didn't realize this before . . . ."

"Because the power made you mad," said Ketura insightfully. Ganondorf nodded.

"Tonight, we should stay up here," he suggested, "and go back into the field, taking the eastern bridge into Castle Town. Do you know what that tall tower over the castle is?"

"I've heard that _she_ had a vision of evil still in the world, and the one to stamp it out would be chosen in a tall tower reaching to the heavens. It's a huge construction project that took away the Gorons, and seven years after construction began, only half of the Gorons that made up the work force came back."

"Then I better watch my back," Ganondorf joked.

Ketura took the lantern and put out the light. "I'm going to sleep now," she said.

"All right, good night."

Link had lost Ganondorf in the dark, so he went back into Kakariko Village. He was amazed at how the town had changed since he left. It was less of a village and more of a decent-sized town, with a tall windmill now built over the spot where the Spirit Spring used to be.

_Who built all of this, with all the manual labor in Castle Town building that tower? Us prisoners didn't build it by ourselves, and neither did the Gorons._

He looked at all the houses, trying to figure out which one was his, but the only one that aroused suspicion was the house farthest north in town with a sign on the door that read "I AM GOING AWAY FOR SOME TIME TO FIND MY FATHER."

_My daughter wrote this,_ Link deduced. _But how did she get past Ilia? _The door into the house was locked; they must have been asleep.

"Ilia! Ilia!" He paused, trying to remember the name of his daughter. "Ketrua!"

"Ilia's dead," said a voice behind him. A woman clad in indigo with cloth wrapped around her face with the exception of space to show her red eyes showed up unexpectedly. "And the girl's name is Ketura." The woman had a strange eye symbol emblazoned on the front of her clothing. "As you know, Ketura just left, looking for you."

"But, she's going by herself?" asked Link. It didn't bug him that Ilia was dead; there was no love in there marriage, other than love for Ketura.

"No. She has a companion, and she's quite safe. You don't need to follow her. I don't mean to change the subject, but how do you feel about Princess Zelda?"

"I hate the woman," spat Link, quietly.

"Good, exactly what I wanted to hear. Come with me, Link. I am Sheik, co-leader of -" Sheik dropped her voice to a low whisper "- a conspiracy to assassinate Zelda and Zant. We must set out now to our base at the hidden village past the Bridge."

Link followed Sheik through Hyrule Field, on the Bridge of Eldin, and into the Hidden Village.

* * *

Ganondorf couldn't sleep that night. He just stood up and looked out at the field, watching Bulbins that skulked at night come out and pick on the leevers, wondering where their king was, not noticing the two people passing on the bridge.

When the outside world bored him, he turned back in and sat down next to the sleeping Ketura. What was he to think of this poor, lost girl? Would she abandon him upon finding her father, or would she be attached to the one asking these questions in his head?

Deep down, he was grateful to have someone to go around with. After five hundred and fifteen years, he was tired of being alone.


	4. Three

**THREE **

"Why, Midna, you're looking a tad worse for wear," said Zelda with mock sympathy. Zant had come into the secret chamber where he and Zelda met in private, bringing Midna with him.

"It is because I cut off her hair," said Zant, thrusting the cage that held the imprisoned imp princess onto a table. "Did you ever know it was the source of her power? Now, she won't be able to escape."

"Zant, Midna is not why I summoned you, but thank you for putting her out and bringing her here. It's about Link."

"Link?" Midna lifted her head to listen.

"Shut up, whelp," snapped Zant.

"How dare you tell the guards to release him by my orders? He still has the Triforce of Courage!" Zelda questioned Zant.

"He and Midna need not be incarcerated together." Zant said plainly.

"It's very true," intervened Midna in a smart-alec manner. "We'd scheme to escape and do something to you."

"See, my point exactly. Plus, she has feelings for him."

Zelda looked at Midna in a condescending manner. "Ah, how sweet. However, I don't think those feelings can be returned. See, he married. _And_, he has a daughter. Your love is unrequited. Never go chasing younger men, Midna."

Sighing heavily, Midna buried her head in her hands again and started sobbing quietly.

"Put her in the compartment over there," Zelda told Zant, and he picked up the cage and carried it to the pillar that the princess pointed at. He tapped it, and a part of it slid out to reveal a compartment. Zant stuffed Midna in there, tapped the pillar again, and it closed.

"Zelda, not only have I brought you Midna, I also brought the Master Sol. The Master Sol is the chief provider of light for both the Light World and the the Twilight Realm. It's what gives light to the sun. I just now split it into four pieces and they all scattered themselves across Hyrule. Now, there will be twilight here, but it will not turn the people into spirits."

"What a shame, Zant," said Zelda heavily, "If the people were affected, it would be tons easier finding Link. Send out a company to Kakariko Village."

* * *

Ketura lifted up her head to get a peek through the window of the tower. The sky was a bright orange color, almost exactly matching her hair. Black squares were everywhere, rising and falling to and from the ground.

"Strange rain," she commented under her breath, "especially this early in the morning."

"That's not rain," said Ganondorf; Ketura jumped, forgetting that for the first time in a year, she wasnt alone. "It's Twilight; this stuff is blocking out the sun."

"Will this hinder us from going to see the princess?" asked Ketura, groping for her bag and pulling out two apples. "Apple?" she offered; Ganondorf shook his head in refusal. She took a bite of an apple.

"No, it won't. As soon as you've finished that apple, we're on our way."

* * *

Castle Town was a huge place; the narrow cobble streets weren't too terribly busy in the morning, but there was very little space between all the buildings crammed along them. The few people out and about at this moment turned their heads towards the two the moment they passed by, as if they had never seen a Gerudo man and a girl with a sword before.

One boy in particular was watching the two, long before they passed him. He gazed at them curiously with his small gray eyes, and upon getting a better look at Ketura, he began to run his chapped hands over his bronze-colored hair.

"Hey!" he called out to her. "You, girl, with the sword!"

Ketura looked his way. "What do you want, kid?" This boy was a tad younger than she was, about thirteen. Her tone intimidated him.

"You're a girl," he said sheepishly. He looked at Ganondorf, who was staring him down, and he bowed his head. "With a sword. I've never seen such a thing before."

"I'm not going to hurt you just because I have a sword, silly And so what if I carry a sword and am a girl?"

"It's cool that you have a sword. Not a whole lot of girls do stuff like that,"

"So? Go on with your stuff, kid," Ketura and Ganondorf went on their way.

"I didn't handle that well, did I? I don't have a whole lot of people skills."

"Neither do I, Ketura. Neither do I."

"There's the castle right there." Ketura ran towards it, but didn't hear other footsteps accompany her. She stopped, turned around, and saw Ganondorf staring up. "Aren't you coming?" she asked, returning to him.

"I'm not exactly welcome in the castle." Ganondorf said. "Go on without me, I'll be fine. I'll be at . . . Telma's bar," he saw a sign advertising the bar.

"Okay," said Ketura. She turned around and walked forward. The tower that she could see hovering over the tower from her hometown was even more colossal up close. It had to be at least five hundred feet tall. Where was there so much white stone in Hyrule?

"Can I help you, miss?" the voice startled her. Ketura looked to the person that had laid a hand on her shoulder and saw it was a guard.

"Um, yes, I was going to see if I could speak to the Princess. I'm looking for my father, you see."

"Lucky for you, miss, I can get you in to see Her Highness," said the guard. "Strange weather we're having, eh? First, give me your sword and your bag. Now follow me." He began to walk towards the castle, opening Ketura's bag and looking through it. "Say, what's your name?"

"Ketura Yelene Lykos," she answered. "I'm from Kakariko Village, and my father's name is Link . . . Lykos, of course."

"Link, eh? That guy who saved Hyrule some years ago? He's in jail, I think. Ticked Her Highness off something fierce. You can appeal for his release,"

"He's been in jail?" blurted Ketura as she and the guard crossed the courtyard to the castle doors. "You bet I'll appeal for his release."

"What's this funny crystal thing?" he said, picking up the little container holding the odd black crystal.

"I don't know, but I bet it's bad to touch it,"

"Everything in your bag is not hazardous, for the most part, but I doubt you'd want to do anything to Her Highness." The guard opened the door and ushered Ketura in, who quietly scoffed at his last statement.

The first room of Hyrule Castle was the largest indoor space that Ketura had ever been in. She had never seen so many stairs, doors, and balconies in one place before. Was it possible to not get lost in here?

The guard led Ketura up a flight of stairs, through a room, down a hallway lined with blue carpet, into the main hall, through another door, into an office. The office was decorated in blue and gold with polished wood furniture. At the moment, nobody was in here.

"She is out right now, but will be here to see you soon. Until then, just wait . . . and don't touch _anything_." The guard, still holding Ketura's sword, stepped out of the room.

Ketura paced around, looking at everything. In her plain clothing, she felt out of place in this splendidly decorated room. She took off her boots in fear that she would trail mud on the carpet. Her bare foot slid on the floor and moved the carpet over as it slid. A trapdoor was hidden under the carpet.

Immediately the urge to open the door and see what was there filled Ketura up. However, a voice of reason filled her head. _What if the Princess entered her office to see her carpet rolled back and a dirty pair of boots on her clean floor?_

_I won't be long,_ she thought, opening the trapdoor and descending_._


	5. Four

**FOUR**

Ketura descended down some stairs into another office-type room. This room was not as well-kept as the one above it; all sorts of items were strewn on the square table in the middle. A note about a rebel group supposedly camping in North Eldin caught her eye. It was dimly lit, with a single torch bolted onto each pillar. On one pillar, the torch was higher up than the rest.

She turned around to ascend, deciding there was nothing here, when she heard a muffled sound come from the far corner of the room. She walked in the direction of the sound's source: the pillar with the raised torch. The sound was like that of a thud, like someone was trying to escape the confines of the pillar.

"Hello?" said Ketura.

"What?" answered a weak voice.

"Do you need help with anything?"

"Yeah. I want free. Tap on the pillar and it should open up."

Ketura obeyed the voice, tapped the pillar, and it opened up. Inside the hollow space was a little imp creature in a cage. She picked up the cage, closed the pillar up, and went back up into the office.

"Who are you, and what are you doing here?" asked the imp.

"My name's Ketura, and I'm here to see the Princess about my father."

"Your father? Who . . . oh." The imp stopped talking after she had gazed into Ketura's eyes long enough. After a pause and a sigh, she continued talking. "But you're going to rescue me, and that's good enough, I guess. Hide me in that cupboard over there." She pointed at a polished wooden cupboard underneath a window. Ketura ran over, stashed the cage in, and put the room back together. She even put her boots back on.

Just in time, the door opened, and there was Princess Zelda herself. Her dirty blonde hair was in a loose bun, strands of soft wavy hair hanging by her ears. She was wearing a silk purple gown.

"Your Highness," said Ketura, bowing clumsily.

"Good morning, dear. According to my captain of the guard, you are here to learn about your father's whereabouts. I can assure you, he is no longer imprisoned. I released him just yesterday, and I'm sure that he's ba-- I mean, he's out looking for you since you're not at home like a good girl. Does your mother know where you are?"

"No, Your Highness," said Ketura, forcing herself to look the Princess in the eye. "My mother is dead, you see."

"Oh, I'm sorry, dear. Well, you know where your father is now, so go on home. Are you here alone?"

"Uh . . . no, Your Highness. I'm accompanied by a friend of mine," Ketura quickly lied. It was a bit too early in their relationship to call Ganondorf a friend.

"Go on now, then, dear. May Nayru grant you safe passage."

As Ketura walked out the door, she thought seethingly, _What about Din and Farore, the others in the Godly Triumvirate you don't acknowledge? And what does she mean, like a good girl? Is she saying that I should stay home and bake cookies all day or something?_

"Miss?" the guard startled her. "Here; have your sword back. Have a good day."

As Ketura stepped out of the castle and sneaked around the back, she was formulating a plan to rescue the imp girl.

_Was that Midna?_

* * *

"Some bar," muttered Ganondorf as he entered Telma's bar. Telma herself was a mildly pretty middle-aged woman who looked like she had recently lost a lot of weight, with tired-looking mahogany-colored skin and subtle red hair. She was buttoning up her jacket as he walked in.

"Hello, sir, welcome!" she said cheerily. "You're a Gerudo like me, aren't you?" she whispered to him as he sat at the counter.

Ganondorf nodded.

"There are still Gerudo?" a note of happiness was in her voice.

"Just me, as far as I know. I haven't been to the desert in years. She could have sent some of her goons in uniforms to stamp everyone out between the time I left and right now."

"I know; all this pro-Hylian nonsense Her Highness is coming up with these days. I've had to pass myself off as extremely tan many times . . . . You seem troubled, hon. Let me get you something to drink. What would you like?"

"Um . . . mead sounds good right now."

Telma started talking again, a little louder, because nobody else was in the bar right now. "So, who are you descended from? I know for sure my lineage goes all the way back to Nabooru herself!"

"Traitor," breathed Ganondorf.

"Excuse me?"

"Nabooru was a traitor to our people, Telma. As a sage, she had a hand in imprisoning our people and banishing them away!"

"I'm sorry you feel that way, but once you're named a sage, you're bound and can't do a thing about it. Here's your mead. Since you're Gerudo, have it free."

"Thanks." He took a good, deep swig of it.

The door burst open; there was Ketura, an imp resting on her shoulder. "Ganondorf!" she panted. "We have to get out of here!"

Telma turned to Ganondorf, a disgusted look on her face. "Get out. It was your fault that we got into this mess in the first place. OUT!"

Ganondorf sprang up and followed Ketura and the imp into the space behind the bar.

"What's going on?" he asked her. "You're not looking too well, Midna."

"I've been imprisoned. Stupid Zant."

"Anyway, I spoke with _her_, and she said that my dad was released from jail yesterday, and I should go home. Well, before the meeting, I found Midna, saved her from her imprisonment, and hid her during the meeting. I had no choice but to leave, so I went around the back, climbed up the wall to the window of her office, opened it, found Midna, climbed down, and ran. Sadly, as I was opening the cupboard, she came back in. She called some guards after me, and I've pretty much led them here."

"Hey girl! Where are you?" a voice shouted.

"You're just as reckless as your father!" spat Midna quietly. "I never should have left him alone with that Ilia girl . . . ."

"Midna, can you fit inside my bag?" Ketura opened her bag and let Midna get inside it. "I know it's not comfortable, but it's the best we can do right now."

"Maybe she went inside the bar!" After hearing the bar's door close, Ketura darted into the street, Ganondorf following. She went to the western gate where they entered, right past the guards who were supposed to be looking for her.

"That was close," she panted, slowing to a walk once ten yards from the gate. She opened the bag and let Midna out.

"I don't like Zelda," stated Ketura with a spit. "No, I despise her. What if there were like-minded individ- . . . I read a note on her desk about a rebel group somewhere in North Eldin. Perhaps they're against her."

"Hmm," said Ganondorf. "Who better to join a group of such a nature than me?"

"Well, we can investigate, but would such a thing exist?" asked Midna, uncertain.

"Let's go. We better get a move on before those guards follow us here."


	6. Five

**FIVE**

Midna fastened her grip around Ketura's neck so she could run as fast as she could, Ganondorf sprinting alongside her as well. Once across the Bridge of Eldin, they stopped for some breath.

"I think I'm gonna be sick . . . I haven't moved that fast in like, sixteen years." Midna groaned, her head swaying back and forth.

"Where are those rebels?" wondered Ketura out loud.

"I don't think they'd be public about their work," said Ganondorf. "Say, Midna."

Midna turned her head to Ganondorf slowly and suspiciously.

"I know that I've screwed things up pretty badly for the Gerudo tribe, what with my lust for power and all. I'm sorry that I did what I did and dragged you into my latest harebrained scheme."

"It's no big deal," said Midna nicely. "That stuff happened five hundred years ago. The Twilight Realm isn't that bad a place. However, from the remorse that I see in your face, you've had a change of heart, and I wonder about what brought that on."

"Death changes you," he guessed. "Ketura, I don't feel right about this anymore. We should be looking for your father."

"No need for that." A man popped out of nowhere and startled them. His hair was a brown color, his eyes matched the color of Ketura's, and he was very thin. He was heading towards Ganondorf. "What are you doing alive?" he accused next.

"Um, see, the girl accidentally resurrected me. Curiosity got the best of her, I suppose. And now I'm just trying to make amends for my past wrongdoings and atone for them - "

"What's your name?" the man asked Ketura.

"Ketura," she answered, thinking about who this man could be.

"Last name?"

"Lykos," Ketura added. "Are you Link?"

"Indeed I am . . . . " Link's voice trailed off. "How did you find him?" he asked, pointing his sword at Ganondorf.

"For money, I dig in the field and I dug him up one day. After a prayer on behalf of his soul, he rose."

"All of you, come with me. That's a cute baby sibling you've got there; you've trained him or her to sit on your shoulder like that - "

"I'm not a baby," Midna corrected him rudely as Ketura and Ganondorf followed Link. "You should know me the best out of all of us."

"Hm," Link said in comprehension. "Midna,"

Midna was glad she was behind Link, for a tear began to stream down it. _I guess you don't love me, since that's how you're greeting me after fifteen years._

"Ketura, does your mother know where you are?" Link inquired as the group reached a cave-like passage. He led the rest into it.

"No, she doesn't know anything anymore," said Ketura.

"So she's horribly sick, and you left her?"

"No, she's . . . dead."

Link stopped where he was; Midna turned away. "I know." was all he had to say before he started walking again.

"Dad, what's wrong with you?" demanded Ketura. "My mom was your wife, your true love, and she died, and all you can say was 'I know' without the faintest trace of emotion?"

"That's the thing, Ketura. She wasn't my true love. I only married her to cover up an embarrassment I had caused her. I mean, I loved her as a friend, but I would never love her like I loved . . . ."

Link, Ganondorf, Ketura, and Midna, had now come to an old village with one street, and all of the dilapidated buildings were lined along that one street.

"This is the old village of the Sheikah. The Sheikah originally lived in Kakariko Village, but they went into hiding after the fierce war in Hyrule's early days - " ("Good times," Ganondorf muttered) "- because of anti-Sheikah sentiments after the reign of Zelda I. Nowadays, it is the headquarters of a conspiracy that exists to take down the current Zelda. We know what she's up to, and it's not plain old tyranny. Follow me."

Link led his daughter, friend, and former enemy down the street to the house on the end. He opened the door to let them inside. Apparently, the inside of the buildings was affected by the Twilight as well; the air and the objects inside had a orange tint. The people inside were a woman dressed in indigo with her face concealed and a dark-skinned man with fiery red hair and a muscular build. A fluffy white cat was sleeping under the table.

"Who are these people, Link?" asked the woman, eyeing Ketura, Ganondorf, and Midna. The man stared at Ganondorf.

"As luck would have it, Sheik, this girl here is my daughter, Ketura. The imp is Midna, the Twilight Princess, and he's Ganondorf."

The man, who had to be Gerudo, finally spoke. "You are not welcome here," he said to Ganondorf in a husky voice. "You ruined our people."

"We were already ruined long before I showed up, actually. Living in that desert is as low as you can sink. I was just trying to get our people out of there."

"Well, you failed!" said the Gerudo man.

"Doeg!" snapped Sheik, trying to restrain him as he prepared to jump at Ganondorf. "Stop! He's here now, ready to help us, so we must show civility."

"You want to help us stop Princess Zelda?" asked Doeg, noticing how Ketura spat upon hearing the Princess' name. "The girl wants to, obviously. What did she do to you?"

"She tore my family apart," said Ketura. "When she decided to build that tower, she brought many of our able-bodied men from Kakariko Village to go build it, leaving the rest of us to fill in their jobs. As a result, Kakariko's economy faltered. On top of that, she had our Spirit Spring drained, which would have healed my mother when she broke her neck, and of the Divine Trinity, she only acknowledges Nayru. If one was to even utter the name of the other two, one would risk death." She stopped for a breath.

"Is that all?" asked Link, awestruck at what had been happening in the outside world during his imprisonment.

"No, there's more. I almost lost my home when she raised taxes to fund the building of the tower, and - "

"You're in," interrupted Doeg. "What about you, imp?"

"Did you not pay attention to who this is?" Link erupted suddenly. "This is the Twilight Princess herself!"

"I was talking to the Twilight Princess, you imbecile," snapped Doeg.

"Well, Zelda -" (Ketura spat again) "- deceived me into thinking she was my friend. I didn't know that she was part of the plot fifteen years ago when the Twilight first came upon your world of light. I found out about her trickery when Zant came back a couple of days ago and kidnapped me from my palace in my own realm. Those two are planning to merge our two worlds and have total dominion over them."

Everyone nodded in comprehension.

"But what the Princess doesn't know is that with the sun gone, life in the world of Light will deteriorate. She believes everything Zant tells her about this. Zant's trying to destroy this world."

A silence followed this statement; one of those silences that indicated that everyone was horrified by what they just heard. Sheik grabbed a map of Hyrule and a pencil and started to draw four arrows from a point on the east edge of the map. "If there's Twilight again," Link finally said, "then why isn't everyone a spirit, and why am I not . . . ."

"Zant said something about the Master Sol," said Midna. "It also provides light to the Twilight Realm, the little that is there."

"It is the Master Sol," said Sheik, erasing an arrow she had drawn. "This morning, I went out during the early sunrise, and as the sun peeked over the horizon, it violently rose into the sky, split into four pieces, and each piece flew across Hyrule. One piece flew north, another south, another to the east, and the last one to the west. To restore the sun to our world, we must reassemble the Master Sol and return it to the void between the worlds, however that is done."

"I'll seek the fragments," volunteered Ganondorf.

"Very well," said Sheik. "However, I do not advise you to go alone."

"Ketura will go with me, then."

Ketura turned her head towards Ganondorf with a face that indicated a mixed reaction.

"No, I'll go with you," interjected Link. "I'm more experienced with adventures and such."

"Link, we need you here to help coordinate our attack on the castle." Sheik said bluntly. "Ketura will be fine."

"Yeah, Link. If you did all right when you were thrust into a quest, she can as well," said Midna. "The big difference is that our enemy is not aware of Ketura's existence, and they think Ganondorf's dead, while last time, Zant knew we were running around, and did all he could to try and stop us."

"It's settled, then. Ganondorf and Ketura will set out to find the four pieces of the Master Sol, and return it to the void between our realm and the Twilight Realm." Sheik said with finality. "Midna, I want you to figure out a way to the void." Midna nodded. "You two, come here," Sheik continued, gesturing to the first two people she named. They crowded around the map of Hyrule with her.

"If my projections are correct, there should be a piece in these places -" she pointed her pencil at Zora's Domain, the Faron Woods, the Gerudo Desert, and Death Mountain. "I would start at Zora's Domain, because the piece might be lost in the river, and you want to catch it before it's eaten by an Octorok or something. No, Octoroks are extinct . . . let's say a reekfish."

"When should we leave?" asked Ganondorf.

"Um, right now would be great."

"Let's go, Ketura," ordered Ganondorf. He turned to the door, and when he was almost out, Link stopped him.

"Take good care of her," he hissed under his breath. "I swear, one scratch - "

"I'll be careful not to scratch myself then," retorted Ganondorf. He opened the door, ushered Ketura out, and accompanied her as they left the village and went north.


	7. Six

**SIX**

"So how do we get to the Zora's Domain?" asked Ketura as she and Ganondorf came upon another field. A small body of water bisected it and ran into a drain in the back of a wall in front of Castle Town; a bridge arched over it. The tower still loomed over them.

Ganondorf looked to their left to see a ridge along a wall of stone. He headed that way; Ketura followed. "The map showed it to be this way," he said.

"I'm curious, Ganondorf," said Ketura randomly, "Out of all the people you had to choose from back in that hidden village, why did you choose me?"

"You said you would go with me, remember?" Ganondorf reminded her.

"Yes," Ketura agreed.

"Well, I'm holding you to that. Plus, I like you."

"You're capable of liking people?" Ketura joked. "You, the man credited with hateful destruction?"

"Back in my own time, five hundred years ago, not only could I like people, I could even love. Such was the case with this one girl. She was Hylian; from a dysfunctional family, she ran away from home and came to the Gerudo lands. She was smart, nice, the first person to treat me like an actual person and not just the King of the Gerudo. She was just content to be my friend, but being a man, I wanted more. Sadly, she didn't love me back. Instead of telling me up front, she lead me on, and once she told me the truth some time later, I got so angry that . . . ."

"Did you kill her?" asked Ketura. The lack of answer told her yes.

"One thing I cannot stand, Ketura, is being lied to.

"Gerudo men are naturally bad-tempered. We must have it our way." He sighed. "If at any time you feel the need to get away from me, do not hesitate."

The two continued on quietly to the northern part of the field, sneaking around a Lizalfos that was napping under a tree, up the ridge that Ganondorf had spotted, into a tunnel that led to Zora's Domain.

Zora's Domain had a serene feeling about it. The water looked eerily beautiful in the Twilight; Zoras were swimming in it or talking along the shore. The water fell from a great waterfall into a small lake, where it ran into the actual river.

"Where should we start looking?" asked Ketura, watching a Zora swim up the waterfall; the sight of it amazed her.

"The Zora have a ruler, you know; a King or a Queen. We should ask them if they've seen anything."

"Hey there!" said a Zora behind them. This Zora wore a helmet and carried a spear. "Who are you and what are you doing here?"

"I'm Ketura of Kakariko Village, and this is . . . Gerald, also of Kakariko. We need to speak to your King or Queen, please. It's urgent."

"Are you with Princess Zelda?" asked the Zora.

"No." Ketura said after a spit. "We hate her."

"Good, I shall take both of you up the waterfall . . . one at a time, of course. Gerald, you first."

Ganondorf mouthed "_Gerald?_" at Ketura when the Zora was getting in the water.

"Should people know your real name?" Ketura whispered quickly before Ganondorf got into the water, took hold of the Zora, and zoomed up the waterfall. Seconds later, the Zora came back, and Ketura jumped into the water.

"Thank goodness you're smaller," said the Zora. "Come now, put your arms around my neck and hold on tight."

Ketura obeyed him, and the Zora zoomed across the lake and up the waterfall. It was a strange feeling, being completely surrounded by water that was rushing by, for she had never learned how to swim. At last, she and the Zora reached the top.

The Zora throne room was circular, the source of the river in the middle, flowing down and becoming the waterfall. Ketura was taken all the way to the middle, where she got back on dry land with Ganondorf. The throne itself was right in front of them, and on it sat a Zora man in elaborate clothing that looked like it was made of fish scales. He also wore a coral earring. Standing next to the throne was a female Zora in a purple dress and a small red tabard with the Zora symbol embroidered onto it. She wore a gold cap and carried a lyre.

"King Ralis, Sage Queen Laruto, this is Ketura, and Gerald, both of Kakariko Village. They come with urgency."

Ketura bowed the same awkward bow she did for Princess Zelda; it felt even more so because she was completely wet. "Your Highness, we, your humble servants, have come seeking the Master Sol."

"The Master Sol?" said Ralis. "Just this morning, as my wife and I awoke, we saw a slab of rock that was almost as bright as the sun itself sitting on my throne. I sat it down by the water's edge, but I gave it an accidental nudge and it went down the waterfall. It might already be at the bottom of Lake Hylia as we speak."

"That could be it," said Ketura. "If you would grant us permission to search the river for it -"

"Permission granted." Ralis said immediately.

"King Ralis!" cried another armored Zora from the water. "The Hylian soldiers are here, at the base of the waterfall."

Ralis took the hand of Queen Laruto. "You two, hide, now. We are not supposed to fraternize with Hylians other than those permitted by Princess Zelda - yes, spit away at her name, miss, I would spit with you, but it is not ladylike," said Laruto quickly. She freed herself from her husband and reached under the throne, pulling out a suit of deep blue armor that was made in the Zora fashion. It looked big enough to fit Ketura. "For you, put it on, and dive into the water there." She got another one, bigger, and gave it to Ganondorf. Once the two had put their armor on, they dove into the water and swam down about ten feet.

There was something about this suit of armor; Ketura could move freely through the water, swimming like she had been able to her whole life, and the cloth she pulled over her mouth eliminated all need to breathe. After a few minutes, an armored Zora came to retrieve them.

Laruto was gone; Ralis was still there, his head hung, holding the lyre that his wife had held. He was absentmindedly playing a song that was slow, yet beautiful. Ketura recognized the notes: _D, F, A, A, B, A, D, F, G, F, E, G, F#._

"I hate them," said Ralis quietly. "Laruto is the Sage of the Earth, and I only see her once a year because that Princess insists that she live in that dark temple where she can pray to Nayru for the Master Sword. I hate her. I hate the Hylian army. I hate the Master Sword. I hate Nayru!"

"I'm sorry," said Ganondorf. "Can we do anything?"

"Yes, you can. Take those suits of armor, and look for the piece of the Master Sol. Go now."

--

Two guards were sitting alongside the shore of Lake Hylia next to the waterfall that poured the Zora River into the lake. A wall was erected about twenty yards in each direction around the waterfall, forcing any Zoras trying to swim to the lake come onshore and answer to the guards.

"Man, I hate my job," said one guard. "It's so boring. Zoras are obedient buggers; they're not going to swim down here and interfere with our fishing and mining in the lake."

"I hear ya, Dave," said the other guard. "I wish some Zoras would at least come down here and chat with us."

"The only Zora we've seen in five years is their queen lady, Laruto, and five minutes ago, we got our annual glimpse. She's going back to her temple. Joe, let's face it: our job sucks."

"Hey look!" said Joe, pointing at the waterfall. "Zoras! I swear, they just went over the waterfall. One of them was rather fat for a Zora, the other a tad short, but skinny enough. But who cares! Zoras!"

"She ain't a Zora," said Dave, as a head popped out of the water. It was a girl's head, clad in Zora armor. "It's a girl dressed as one. And her friend, the fat Zora . . . ."

The girl popped back underwater, then emerged, along with a man dressed as a Zora.

"Hey! What are you doing?" Joe called. "Come on shore!"

Both of the swimmers came to shore. The girl ran for the area of the lake past the wall and dived in, taking off; the man following behind.

"Drat, I can't swim."

"Neither can I. But if they come back . . . ."

--

_That was way too close,_ Ganondorf thought to himself as he followed Ketura. She was swimming to the bottom of the lake at full speed, and he saw past her to see why: something bright was shining out amidst the twilit underwater. _I'd almost like to call her an idiot for just going right past them._

There was a good five feet between them, enough room for a large, clam-like creature to swim between them and lunge at Ganondorf. When its mouth was opened, he grabbed both the top and the bottom and struggled to keep the mouth open. Not much could be done without a sword.

He stayed there for a few minutes until Ketura came back to him with the piece of the Master Sol. Upon seeing him fighting the clam, she unsheathed her sword and swam towards him, sticking the clam in the mouth. The clam shrank back and imploded.

Ketura showed him the piece proudly, and pointed up towards the surface. Ganondorf shook his head, and took off somewhere else. She followed him back to the shore where those two guards were still waiting for them.

"Swimming in Lake Hylia's illegal, you know." Joe told the two as they stepped onto shore.

"Thanks for telling us, but we're done in the lake now," said Ketura with sass. She jumped into the Zora River and swam up the waterfall (modern suits of Zora Armor allow for swimming upstream and up waterfalls), Ganondorf following.


	8. Seven

**SEVEN**

"Wow, that's bright," commented Doeg as he took the fragment of the Master Sol from Ketura. As it sat in the house, all the Twilight had left it, and pure light filled the house. The house was currently occupied by Ketura, Ganondorf, Doeg, Sheik, three men dressed along the same lines as Sheik, and three women who were obviously triplets and obviously Gerudo.

"Where to next?" Ganondorf asked.

"Try the Faron Woods." Sheik told him. "Take a break, though."

--

Ketura left the main house, walked down the street, and looked inside the broken windows of each building for Link. When she found him, she went inside.

Link was sitting on the ground, his body leaning against the wall, his arms cradling a sleeping Midna. He noticed Ketura and smiled.

"Can I talk to you?" asked Ketura. Link nodded, not looking up at her.

"It's about Ganondorf," continued Ketura. "Why are you so cold towards him?" She moved to sit down towards him.

"What would make you think I was cold to him?" Link still didn't look at his daughter.

"Well, when we came back, upon seeing him, you threw him this death glare that plainly read 'Go away, I don't want you around.' I know he was doing evil stuff and all before I was born, but what's your problem?"

"He nearly killed Midna," confessed Link. "Midna sent Zelda - " Ketura spat "-and I out of the castle just when we thought we had him beat, and the castle blew up, and he emerged from the rubble - she didn't. I guess that's it. He did nothing to me personally." He absentmindedly stroked his fingers through the fluorescent orange stubble on top of Midna's head.

"All because of Midna? Is she the one you love instead of Mom?"

Link nodded.

"I see. So you've got a problem with a guy who's never done anything to you?"

"Ketura, I've got quite a lot of problems right now with the world in general. Upon learning your mother was pregnant after returning from my journey, I knew that I couldn't journey anymore, that I'd have to marry her and stay home with my family. It's a thrill, a real thrill once you get used to it. I was infuriated that I wasn't selected to go retrieve the Master Sol shards."

"Dad, I'm really sorry. You're right; it was kind of fun. Maybe I can talk to Ganondorf and Sheik -"

"No, you're young, you need to be seasoned like I was at your age." Link sighed. "I'm really afraid that Midna resents me because of you. To her, a daughter seems proof that I got over her and moved on. But I haven't. I still love her the same as I did fifteen years ago, and she must still love me."

Silence.

"Mom told me you had a lot of friends while you were growing up," Ketura finally said. "However, she smothered me. She never let me have any friends. She was always afraid I'd get too attached to someone and risk doing crazy, life-threatening stuff for them."

"In other words, she didn't want you to be like me," joked Link.

"She always assumed that the Princess sent you on another quest."

"I'd rather spend fifteen years on a quest than in prison, let me tell you that. Prison is horrible. You got one loaf of bread and one jug of lukewarm water to last you a week, and good behavior was rewarded with a small fruit. And Good Farore, those arbitrary beatings. I've got scars all over my back. The cell is really small and dark, and about three were kept in one cell at a time. I'd rather die than go back."

More silence.

"Just out of curiosity, Dad, if you could have one thing given to you right now, what would it be?"

"Probably a normal life. Just you, me, and Midna in a home in a village where nobody judges anyone else for superficial things. And you?"

"Before I die, all I want is one good, true friend."

--

Ketura spent the day getting to know the other six people involved in the conspiracy. The three men - Gad, Judah, and Asher - were Sheikah just like Sheik, whose ancestors had long ago fled to a foreign land called Termina, and they had recently returned to Hyrule because they heard of Zelda's iron fisted reign and wanted to end it before their homeland was affected. Sheik was a cousin of these three brothers. She was named after the son of the founder of Kakariko Village (The Great Impa) and Princess Zelda I assumed his identity to help the Hero of Time on his quest.

Doeg was the lone boy in the set of quadruplets that also consisted of the other three Gerudos. The four had grown up with their older sister Telma (who was part of the conspiracy; she served as a spy in Castle Town and sent messages via her cat Louisa) on the far side of the Gerudo Desert, far to the north of the Arbiter's Grounds, where the descendants of Nabooru lived. The five siblings chanced their way south through a perpetual sandstorm and a river of sand to find prosperity in Hyrule. Telma was the only one able to pass off as Hylian, so she opened a bar in Castle Town, allowing her siblings to live underneath it in secret (if Zelda knew of any surviving Gerudo, she would have them killed). Some time after the first Twilight, Telma moved to Kakariko Village and married the shaman Renado, closed the bar, and brought the four to live in the sanctuary of the village. Renado died ten years into the marriage, so the five moved back to Castle Town and reopened the bar.

"Now _he_ thinks that he can just waltz in and uproot all we've worked for," Doeg said of Ganondorf. "I'm the leader of the Gerudo now, and I will make things right for my people."

"How many Gerudo are left?" asked Ketura.

"Just me and my sisters." Doeg said sadly. "We were attacked by a large ground worm that killed our mother, our aunts, our grandmothers, everybody except for us five."

"I'm sorry to hear that," said Ketura apologetically.

"Doesn't matter now, what's happened to who or who's done what. We are all here, with a common goal, and we are currently waiting for the opportune moment to strike. All I need you to focus on is that Master Sol. Now rest up some and go for it."

--

Ketura wanted to go to the same place as her father to take a nap, but according to the rules, only two people were allowed to rest in each building ("That way, if we're caught, there's less chance they'll get all of us," Sheik explained to her) so she picked one on the edge of the village, which used to be a potion shop in its heyday.

At least she thought it was empty. Ganondorf was sitting in there, running his finger along the ground.

"Enjoy your chat with your dad?" he asked, not looking up at her.

"Kind of," answered Ketura. "He's only mad at you because of what you did to Midna. He seems to care about her more than anything else." She sat down next to him. "Now, I'm here to rest a little before we go after the next piece. The Faron Woods is a long distance off."

"Indeed it is," agreed Ganondorf absentmindedly.

Ketura shifted around so that she was lying on her side, her head on the ground. "I don't know if my dad wants me. During the whole conversation, he just looked at Midna, as if I were invisible. He always spoke with this disparaging tone whenever he mentioned my mom." She stopped and took a deep breath. "I don't need him. I've been fine without him for my whole life, and if he were to die now, I probably wouldn't notice." She said no more and fell asleep.

--

"I'm so glad Sheik let us bring the map this time," commented Ketura. She and Ganondorf were standing at the west entrance of the Faron Field. They had gone south, throught the Eldin Field, bypassed Kakariko Village, and came out here. "Okay, so we keep going south and look for an opening among all those trees." Ketura took off; Ganondorf followed. There were Moblins grouped together on a bridge that connected two ridges, but they took no notice of the two.

Once inside the woods themselves, Ketura and Ganondorf continued south until they reached a sign that read

DEEP INTO WOODS (an arrow pointed to their left)

ORDON VILLAGE (another arrow pointed straight ahead)

"Let's go deeper into the woods first, and if nothing's there, we'll try Ordon," decided Ganondorf. Without another word, they went on.


	9. Eight

**EIGHT**

"I have a bad feeling this isn't going to be as easy as the one in the lake," said Ganondorf.

The woods here were thick with trees and undergrowth, so thick that if the sun were still shining, it wouldn't get past the canopy and the woods would be dark.

Ketura started to walk around, checking under logs and rocks and inside of trees.

"What are you doing?" asked Ganondorf. "Don't you think about stuff? What if something attacked you when you stick your nose inside its home?"

Indeed, when Ketura lifted up another rock, a small spider-like creature scurried out and up her body. She froze and watched it climb up to her face, which wore a look of horror and disgust. Finally, it was sitting on her chest, its multiple eyes looking into her two, its venomous fangs poised to bite.

She let out a small scream, drew her sword, and used it to brush off the spider. It landed on the ground and began to bite at her feet. She simply stabbed it on the ground where it stood and watched it implode, like the clam had.

"It wasn't that scary," she shrugged the whole thing off. "Could have been bigger." She kept moving, just scanning everything instead of checking underneath stuff. After thinking about it, she decided that it would be pretty silly for something that flew across the sky to land underneath something else.

Ketura stopped when she heard a noise that sounded like a moving spider, only deeper, slightly slower, and louder. She turned around to Ganondorf, and saw a giant spider behind him. The spider had a black face and black legs, and a skull pattern on its abdomen. It was probably seven or eight feet tall.

"Um, Ganondorf, behind you . . . . AAAGH!" The spider had simply swiped Ganondorf to the side. It looked at Ketura, who was stunned with fear, for a bit, then bit her in the shoulder. Ignoring the pain and the dripping blood, Ketura swung her sword at the spider's head, but it bounced off and flew out of her hand.

"Get out of the way, I'll deal with it." Ganondorf told her as he caught the sword and advanced on the spider. The spider flicked one of its legs at him lazily, but as it came his way, he hacked it off in one swipe. This caused the spider to stand up on its back legs, exposing its stomach, which looked soft and fleshy compared to the top of it. Ganondorf immediately took a swing and slashed its stomach before it landed on all seven legs again. It lunged at Ganondorf to try and bite him, but he took the opportunity to dive underneath it and deal the final blow.

"You don't seem too fond of Skulltulas," Ganondorf said to Ketura as he put the sword back and took a look at her bite. Blood ran down her arm and stained her blouse. "It seems the big one can sense when the little ones are hurt and they go out to avenge the little one." He pulled the shoulder of the blouse down to expose Ketura's bare shoulder, which was marred by two deep punctures. Pus was coming out of one of them.

"I think it was venomous," deduced Ganondorf as he examined the pus. "Nasty, nasty, nasty. However, I don't think you're going to die; it's just an infection. Once we get back, Sheik can give you some proper treatment. I'm going to have to answer to your father, though."

"No you're not." Ketura protested; she was feeling a little light-headed. "I'll tell him that I was bitten because I messed with it. Come on," she said, her voice a little weak. She stumbled forward some, then fell over on her face. She got to her knees and vomited on the ground.

"Ketura!" Ganondorf rushed to her side and helped her up. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," said Ketura weakly, holding her hand to her forehead, which was unusually warm. "Ugh, a temperature." She was about to fall to the ground again, but Ganondorf caught her.

"No, you're not fine," he said, knocking Ketura's feet out from under her so that he was completely holding her. "I hope people live in these woods, so I can drop you off with them and look for the fragment myself."

--

After wandering the woods for a few hours, Ganondorf found no Master Sol piece or even some human inhabitants, so he set Ketura down by a tree, used the sword to carve a K into the tree, and set off on his own. "Stay right here," he said to Ketura before setting off on his own.

He finally came across a monkey who was holding a chunk of stone that shone very brightly, so bright that that portion of the woods was showered with sunlight.

"Hey, little monkey," said Ganondorf, crouching down to the monkey's level. "Can I have that shiny rock?"

The monkey looked at him, then ran off.

"Hey! Come back here! I need that!" He gave chase, following the monkey all the way to a clearing. Up ahead of where he was stood a very large tree; some more monkeys were congregated around it. This monkey went towards the other monkeys. Upon reaching the others, it set the stone down on a stump, and jumped up and down excitedly. The other monkeys did so as well.

Ganondorf walked up to the monkeys and plainly swiped up the stone, but he dropped it upon contact, for not only was it bright, it gave off intense heat. "Gah! How can anyone stand to hold that thing?"

A monkey screeched at him, then placed the stone back on the stump. The whole group of monkeys began to semi-jump, semi-dance around the stone.

"Stupid monkeys," he muttered. "Why can't I hold that thing?"

Suddenly, a wooden puppet thing descended into the group of frolicking monkeys. The monkeys screeched and ran back, away from the puppet. Several more puppets came down, surrounding the stone. Ganondorf drew his sword and began to hack away at the puppets, but as he destroyed one, two more came in its place.

He was soon completely surrounded by about twenty puppets. Along with them, a little child-like creature with dull periwinkle skin, glowing eyes, a floppy hat, and a horn made of leaves dropped in onto the stump. He picked up the piece of the Master Sol, and tossed it to the side. He giggled a giggle that was sinister yet tried to sound sweet before blowing his horn.

The puppets advanced on Ganondorf. He dived towards the strange child, yet the child vanished. Now that there was maybe an inch between him and a puppet in every direction, he began to hack away again, but any puppet not in his way attacked him. Soon, he found himself on the ground, each puppet taking a swipe at him. As the seventeenth puppet came to attack him, it was knocked out of the way. Standing where the puppet used to was Ketura, a long log raised above her head. She looked pale and sickly, but there was a fire in her eyes.

"I told you to stay at that tree." Ganondorf said to her.

"Did you expect me to listen?" Ketura shot back, continuing to smack puppets around. "Get up and help me, I can't do this myself in my current condition."

"You can always vomit on them . . . and how are you walking?" asked Ganondorf as he got up and began destroying puppets. To his relief, any destroyed puppet was not replaced.

"I rested a bit, then followed you. And ha ha ha."

Once all the puppets were destroyed, Ketura bent down to pick up the piece of the Master Sol.

"How in the . . . that thing is really hot to the touch!"

"No it isn't," protested Ketura.

"It was hot to me, I couldn't touch it!"

"I wonder why, O Prince of _Darkness._"

The strange child reappeared onto the stump and giggled. "That was fun!" He said in an equally sinister and sweet way. "Let's play again!"

"No, I don't want to play again," objected Ganondorf. "See, my friend here, she's not feeling good, and we've got to go home so she can -"

The child ignored him, and began to play on his horn. Soon, he was accompanied by a violin from an unknown source. The source made itself known as a boy in clothing of various shades of green emerged from the very large tree, playing a blue violin. The tune the two played was lively and fast-paced, with many rhythmic triplets. As they played, Ketura mouthed "What home?"

The strange children stopped playing, ending their song with a concert A note.

"You're . . . very good," said Ketura. "However, like he said, we've got to go. Bye." She turned around and began to walk away, Ganondorf following. The wind picked up as they walked back to the hidden village.

"Feeling better?" Ganondorf asked Ketura once they had made it out of the forest.

"Yeah," said Ketura, breathing deeply. "I wish there wasn't blood all the way down my blouse; it's my favorite one."


	10. Nine

**NINE**

The child with the trumpet appeared right before them as they were about to leave.

"What do you want?" demanded Ganondorf with exasperation.

"I only had my puppets attack you because I need someone who can fight to help me out, and I thought it to be an excellent way to prove yourself," explained the child. "See, my home is deeper in the forest, and it has been overrun by a gang of Skulltulas."

"My favorite," muttered Ketura.

"Can you help me, please?"

"Uh, yeah, sure," said Ketura. "Take us there. And give me my sword," she added to Ganondorf, who reluctantly handed over her sword and took the log in exchange. "Say, do you have a name?"

"Humans call me Skull Kid," said the child, skipping along before them.

"What are you doing?" he whispered to her as they followed Skull Kid deeper into the forest. A bridge had been built in a north-south direction, connecting a ledge to a branch of the large tree, and another bridge turned and went east.

"We should help the kid out. Skulltulas aren't that pleasant, and nobody should be stuck with them," explained Ketura. "And besides, I'll try not to get bitten again."

--

The patch of wood that Skull Kid led them into had open space, yet the open space was surrounded by trees whose branches shrouded the area. There was also a large pond in one section, with fish swimming in it.

Finally, they made it to an area surrounded by a ruined wall. The ground was littered with shrubs and stones, and a tree stump sat in the middle. In this area, there were perhaps hundreds of small spiders scuttling around aimlessly.

"Shall we?" Ganondorf said to Ketura. She nodded, and charged into the crowd of spiders.

"I wish she'd think first," mumbled Ganondorf before going in after her. He discarded the log he had carried with him and simply stepped on spiders to kill him. Since the spiders were the size of Ketura's feet, she stuck with stabbing them where they were on the ground. One of them began to crawl up her body, but she pulled it off and threw it, watching its insides splatter against the ruined wall. _That's tons more fun,_ she decided, so she picked up anothe spider and threw it against the wall. Then another. And another. Approximately fifty spiders met this demise.

After about an hour, there were no more small spiders left. Ganondorf saw the collage of destroyed spiders plastered to the wall, then looked at Ketura, who was admiring her work.

"You've got to be kidding me," he finally said.

"I don't have problems with the small ones. It's the big ones -" Ketura stopped, for she heard a screech coming from somewhere else.

"That's the big one," she said. "You go first this time,"

"Fine, but you'd better follow," agreed Ganondorf before picking up his log and going through an opening in the wall. He found himself on a platform that had stairs which could be used to access a lower area with a wall at the back of it, with a doorway guarded by two bizarre-looking statues, where there were about ten giant Skulltulas similar to the one they had met before. Each Skulltula turned its eyes towards Ganondorf the moment he walked in.

Without hesitation, he jumped down and dived under the nearest Skulltula, delivering a swift punch to the abdomen. It fell down, but wasn't killed; a sword was required to kill it.

_Where is Ketura with that sword?_ he thought desperately.

After he had stunned all ten of the Skulltulas, he saw Ketura holding two swords: hers, and a bigger, shinier one with a sapphire blue hilt with the Triforce Crest in the center of the hilt.

"Hey, I found another sword back there!" she said, pointing at the doorway guarded by the statues. "You want it?"

Ganondorf stared at the blue-hilted blade, a knot forming in his stomach. "No, give me yours. I can't use that," he said, taking the regular sword from Ketura.

"What's wrong with this one?" asked Ketura, who took the remaining sword out of its sheath (also blue, with elaborate patterns embroidered in gold) and began to swing it around. "It's bigger, heavier, and sharper."

"That's the Master Sword. See my wound here?" Ganondorf pointed to the glowing white spot on his chest. "That blade gave it to me."

"The Master Sword?" Ketura said under her breath. "Hopefully it'll hurt those things more," she said before going in and crawling underneath Skulltulas to stab them, just as Ganondorf had done. He joined in, sliding underneath instead of crawling. Ketura was too preoccupied with taking out the oversized arachnids that she ignored a stinger go through her shoulder - the one that hadn't been bitten. It was only a matter of time before all the Skulltulas were dead.

"Excellent!" cried Skull Kid. He jumped down and landed in front of Ganondorf and Ketura. "Thank you thank you thank you!" He danced around them until he saw the stinger sticking out of Ketura's shoulder.

"Oh my!" squeaked Skull Kid, pointing at the stinger.

"What? Oh!" Ketura took notice of it at last, and reached to pull out the stinger. Once it was out, the pain finally kicked in. "Ah!" She dropped the stinger and recoiled to her knees.

"What was that, and is it venomous?" inquired Ganondorf as he took a look at the wound.

"It's a stinger that Skulltulas use to attack potential threats at its rear," explained Skull Kid. "And it's quite venomous. The damage of its bite is nothing compared to its sting."

Right on cue, Ketura vomited. "Why can't you get hurt for once?" she asked Ganondorf..

"Because I'm careful," he said, scooping her up.

"Put me down, I can walk," she protested.

"I don't think I will. If you paid any attention to what Skull Kid said, you would have heard that the sting is worse than the bite. If you were so sick you were rendered unable to walk from the bite, you will definitely be so from the sting."

"Don't worry, she'll live," said Skull Kid. "Good-bye! Thank you! Feel better!"

"Annoying kid," said Ganondorf under his breath. "At least we got our Master Sol piece."


	11. Ten

**TEN**

"We can use the secret passageway in the bar," suggested Leah, one of the Gerudo quadruplets.

"Have you ever been that way?" questioned Link.

"It's a wild ride through the sewers." Midna added.

"Sewers? Eew!" screamed Dinah, another Gerudo quadruplet.

"Grow up, Dinah. It's just water and filth combined," said Sarah, the third girl of the quadruplets.

"We should," said Doeg, looking at the blueprint of the castle he laid out on the table. "It'd be too conspicuous just waltzing in the front. And yeah, grow up, Dinah."

The door into the house was being kicked in a pattern similar to knocking. "We got it!" called Ganondorf's voice.

"Nice, bring it in," said Link.

"Um, my hands are kind of full, so if you can just open it a little tiny bit . . . ."

Link got up, opened the door a little tiny bit, and Ganondorf pushed it open just enough for Ketura's arm to come through, holding the piece of the Master Sol.

"Nice," said Link, taking it and looking into the light it gave off. "Why don't you two come in?"

"Okay," said Ketura. "Can you wait just a minute?" She shut the door, and Ganondorf opened it again a minute later. Ketura was gripping onto the doorpost for support, and she looked sick.

"Are you okay, Ketura?" Link asked his daughter.

"Oh yeah, I'm fine," she lied, grateful that she had gotten her jacket and put it on before coming here. "And you all need to hide the pieces better. We could see the light from Kakariko Gorge." She rested her head on the doorpost.

"Come inside, please," said Link. Ganondorf went in and sat down at the table with the other Gerudos. Ketura, however, stayed at the doorpost. "Um, Ketura?"

"What? I can't decide if I want to stay outside or come in!"

"Inside is where a chair is. A nice, comfortable, chair," baited Ganondorf. "Besides, your legs are giving out beneath you."

"No they're not." Ketura slowly pushed off of the doorpost to stand on her own. "Here I come." As she spoke the last statement, she fell over to the ground.

"You're not feeling okay!" declared Midna.

"Try dealing with her five minutes after she gets bitten or stung," Ganondorf said to himself.

"What?" Link turned to Ganondorf. "What bit and stung her?"

"A Skulltula," said Ketura. "Not pleasant at all. I can't walk right now." She sat up and pulled her jacket off to reveal the blood that had dried onto her blouse.

"Ganondorf, I told you, one scratch -"

"Well, they're not exactly scratches, Dad," said Ketura. "The one on my left's a bite, the one on my right's a sting." She crawled to the nearest available chair on Ganondorf's left and pulled herself onto it. "It's not that comfortable," she noted.

"Anything else aside from the inability to walk?" persisted Link.

"I've vomited four times on the way back," said Ketura.

"Great. She's left a trail!" exclaimed Doeg.

"Of course I haven't. I did so in the forest where I was first stung, then in Faron Field, then the gorge - I stuck my head over the gorge - then in Eldin Field. Too far apart to be a trail." She dropped her head onto the table. "So, what's the meeting about?"

"We're plotting a way to get into the castle," explained Doeg. "Telma's bar has access to a secret passageway to the castle. Where it goes from there, I'm not sure . . . ."

"The dungeons," said Link, pointing at the dungeon area on the map. "From the dungeons, we can go this way to the first floor of the castle. Wait - I saw this wall of dirt that could easily be dug through, and I bet it leads to the castle gardens. The guards consistently talked about how much the Princess loves her gardens."

"Yeah, but how are we to dig?" asked Leah.

"If only I still had it . . . ." Link said softly.

"Dad, what was this _it_?" asked Ketura, lifting her head up a little.

"It was a crystal full of dark magic that would transform me into a - whoops."

Ketura took her bag and handed it to Link. "There's a crystal in a vial in there somewhere."

Link dug through the bag, taking an apple and eating it, and he came across the picture of him and Ilia from fifteen years ago. He looked for a second, then tossed it onto the table indifferently. Finally, at the bottom of the bag, he found the crystal in a glass vial.

"Are you serious?" asked Midna incredulously, picking up the vial, removing its content, and storing it away. "You still have it after all this time?"

Link simply nodded. "I just kept it as a souvenir, never expecting to need it again," he explained while putting the food and such back inside the bag. "So, to the gardens, then?"

"But what if she's not in the gardens?" continued Dinah.

Ganondorf leaned over to Ketura and whispered in her ear, "I'm bored. What about you?"

"Yeah, let's get out of here," she said back, sliding out of her chair onto the floor with a soft thud. She crawled to the door using mostly her arms.

"Where do you think you're going?" asked Doeg.

"The Gerudo Desert," said Ketura, "There's supposed to be another piece of the Master Sol there,"

"You can't walk," said Link reasonably. "How do you expect to get there?"

"He can walk," Ketura gestured towards Ganondorf, who had just gotten up and walked to the doorway.

"We'll be going now," he said, "but not straight to the desert." He picked Ketura up and carried her out the door to the building on the edge of town.

--

"We . . . I can't walk straight to the Gerudo Desert," explained Ganondorf. He and Ketura were sitting around the map, trying to find a way to the desert. "It's completely disconnected from the rest of Hyrule. The closest we can get is this patch of land here on the southern edge of Lake Hylia, and no bridge or any form of connection is on the map. According to Sheik, it's as recent as it gets."

"How did Doeg and his sisters get from the desert to Lake Hylia?" asked Ketura.

"That's easier to do; you just jump. The desert is past a cliff hovering over the lake."

"Maybe the piece isn't in the desert, but it landed in the lake," suggested Ketura.

"How many pieces did you see when we went to the lake?"

"One," Ketura sighed. "So it's gotta be in the desert."

"Well, we're not going anywhere until you can walk again, that's for sure," said Ganondorf matter-of-factly.

Ketura said nothing. She laid down on the ground and curled her legs into her body, using her arm to help them along. "Like you'd let me go anywhere," she said finally. "You care too much."

"You're right, I do." Ganondorf confessed.

"Stop it."

"I can't. Once you become attached to someone, it's hard to get detached."

"Unless someone lies to you," Ketura reminded him.

"Yeah."

"I've been faking being unable to walk."

"Nice try," said Ganondorf with a chuckle.

A few minutes of silence passed.

"Ketura," Ganondorf finally said, "Would you . . . would you consider me a . . . friend?"

At first Ketura didn't respond; she had been trying to fall asleep. "Yes," she said sleepily before dozing off.

For the first time in five hundred years, Ganondorf felt genuinely happy.


	12. Eleven

**ELEVEN**

Midna left the meeting shortly after Ketura and Ganondorf had to take a walk alone; she had become bored. She slowly strolled down the street, looking around at the old, ruined buildings. The first time she and Link had come here, he had used his stealth to eliminate the Bulbins that had taken over. And there were so many cats! She laughed quietly, thinking of the cats crowding around Link, especially when he was a wolf. It was music to Midna's ears, hearing of Link's intentions to become a wolf once again and lead the group through the sewers to the castle.

She stopped by the old potion shop and looked up at the black clouds of Twilight. It was beautiful, more so than the sun, in her opinion. She didn't mind the Twilight, but in about a year, it would kill the inhabitants of this world who depended on the sun to survive.

She ran her small hand over her head, feeling her hair that was starting to quickly grow back. She wouldn't be completely useless . . . .

She sat against the wall for a while and unintentionally eavesdropped on Ketura and Ganondorf's conversation.

"He's sending me mixed messages again," Ketura complained. "He freaked out at my wounds, but that was all the attention he gave me."

"You're his daughter, it's only natural that he freaks out. And I can think of three reasons he might not be paying you enough attention. The first is Midna. Second, he's spent your whole life in jail, so he hasn't got the first clue how to be a good father to you. Also, he might feel that you don't need him."

"I don't."

"Ketura, it's not you, it's me. You don't need him because I'm doing his job."

Midna stopped listening there, for she had heard enough. Ketura was right; Link had spoken to Midna in private while his daughter was gone with Ganondorf and confessed that he didn't care about Ketura. To him, she was what would have forever kept him at home, away from seeking another way to the Twilight Realm to find Midna again. She reminded him of Ilia. Along with that, he didn't know how to be a good father to a teenage girl.

Louisa the cat was strolling into town. She walked to the cat and led it back to the meetinghouse.

"Hey!" she called, pounding on the door with all of her might. "Louisa's here!"

Link opened the door and let them in. Doeg picked up Louisa , opened up the bell on her collar, pulled out the note and read it aloud.

"Zelda's getting married to some viscount," he said. "In about a month, there will be some fancy gala ball thing to celebrate the wedding, which is a day before." He grabbed a pencil and wrote WE'LL DO IT THEN on the back of the note before putting back in the bell. "We should go carry out our plan then," he said. "The castle will be open to the public. It'll be easier to get in. We'll just have to tell those Sheikah when they get back from Kakariko -"

"Whoa, what are you thinking?" interrupted Sarah. "What happened to 'it would be too conspicuous just waltzing into the front door?' We've been planning to sneak in, and by Nabooru, we'll sneak in just as planned!"

"Okay, fine!" surrendered Doeg. "After all, us Gerudo are supposed to be extinct. We just can't walk around as we please, can we?"

"Nobody in the group really can," lamented Midna going to Link and sitting on his lap.

"Ketura can," said Link. "That's it! She goes to this ball like a regular person, but with some sort of concealed weapon. She gets the Princess alone in an area that the rest of us hide in. Then, we kill her, find a way to get rid of the party guests, and kill Zant."

"I'll get Zant on my own," said Midna. "And there's one problem with your plan, Link. Ketura went to Zelda to learn about your whereabouts and found me. She was caught climbing in the window. Zelda knows who she is."

"Would she remember who Ketura was?" shot back Link. "Zelda's memory isn't that great."

The door burst open; Ganondorf stood there, looking hurried.

"Everyone! Soldiers! They found us!" he shouted.

Link, Midna, Doeg, Leah, Dinah, and Sarah sprang up and ran out of the building, and there were about twenty Hylian soldiers looking in each building. Ganondorf ran to the potion shop to see Ketura verbally sparring with a soldier.

"I can't get up! I'm sick!" she said to the soldier.

"You don't look too sick," the soldier commented. "Get. Up. Or I'll kill you where you sit . . . ." His voice trailed off when he saw the Master Sword strapped to her waist. "Is that the Master Sword? Did you take it from its shrine illegally?"

"Oh, it's illegal to grab a sword and defend yourself against killer Skulltulas?" sassed Ketura.

"You know what, girl, you've earned yourself a good amount of time in prison, perhaps an execution. Come on." He grabbed her shoulders and hoisted her upright, an inch of air separating the ground from her toes.

"You - bully - _get - your - hands - off - of - me!_" Ketura tried to fight back, but the soldier's grip was too strong. However, she was able to unsheathe the Master Sword and slash him. He let go and recoiled; Ketura plopped back onto the ground.

"Why, you, little -" the soldier called Ketura a nasty name befitting a female dog. Ganondorf picked him up by his neck and yanked him three feet above the ground.

"That's not very nice," said Ganondorf. "You should have gotten your hands off of her." He firmed up his grip, literally squeezing, until the soldier had been fully strangled.

"You tell a guy that what he did wasn't very nice, then you kill him? _That's _not very nice," scoffed Ketura as she re-sheathed the Master Sword.

"It comes naturally to me," explained Ganondorf, dropping the body. Another soldier came in, and Ganondorf socked him smack in the middle of his nose.

"But, even though he wasn't the nicest guy, he was still human." Ketura pointed out.

"Ketura, we are at war here. In a war, the enemy is not human. The enemy is a slimy thing that deserves to die." He punched another soldier who was coming in.

"Save some for me, will you?" asked Ketura, dismayed that Ganondorf was taking out every soldier entering the old shop.

"I'm sorry, dear, but you can't fight if you can't walk."

Ketura rolled her eyes. She noticed one soldier sneak past Ganondorf, go outside and shout "Hey, burn the potions shop! There's a girl in there who can't walk, and we'll have gotten at least one of them!"

"We're burning the whole village, you dolt!" yelled another soldier.

Soon, a torch flew threw the window and landed by the wall about five feet away from Ketura. She used her arms and crawled around to gather the map, the lantern, her bag, and her sword before trying to crawl out.

"You'll die before you get out," said Ganondorf, picking her up and running outside.

About half of the village was burning; the flames nearly blended in with the Twilight, with the exception of a slight green tint to the flames. Link had run back to the meetinghouse, trying to beat a soldier with a torch. He later re-emerged with the two pieces of the Master Sol wrapped up in a leather cloth and his blueprints of Hyrule Castle and the Tower.

"Where will you all go?" a soldier (who was obviously the leader because he wore a gold helmet) asked the group as they all ran into the remaining five soldiers. "You have no base now, and you have been caught. Throw down your weapons and you'll at least live to see the dungeons. It's not that bad, is it, Link?"

"It's horrible," said Link. He looked at Midna, who was perched on his shoulder, and she produced the crystal. She stuck it in his head, and everyone watched with amazement as Link transformed into a large brown wolf right before their eyes.

Wolf Link growled at the soldiers, and when they did not look intimidated, he barked at them.

"Aww, what a cute little doggy!" disparaged the leading soldier. It was a bad move; Wolf Link pounced, ripped off his helmet, and mutilated his face. He also bit the man's jugular vein, then got off to watch him bleed to death. Link growled at the remaining four soldiers, who all ran away.

Midna approached Link and pulled the crystal out of his head so he could become human again. "Blood tastes horrible," he said while wiping some from his mouth. "I have been waiting a long time to do that."

"Where do we go now?" asked Sarah.

"What are we to do with the bodies?" asked Leah.

"What if the Sheikah come back and see we're not here?" asked Dinah.

"Snowpeak," said Link. "It's out of the way, hard to get to, and nobody in their right mind would live out there."

"Of course, Snowpeak!" ejaculated Midna. "Yeto and Yeta would be glad to have us!"

"Should we leave a note explaining where we are?" suggested Dinah.

"No." Doeg said firmly. "If someone comes that's not Sheikah, they'll know where we are, and we don't want that if they're in league with Zelda or Zant." By now, everyone ignored Ketura when she spat at the mention of the Princess' name. "The Sheikah can track us down no problem.

"Let's go to Snowpeak."


	13. Twelve

**TWELVE**

"What happened here?" wondered Zelda as she surveyed the damage done to the hidden village of Old Kakariko. She and Zant had come here to see the conspirators with their own eyes before they were all killed, but all they saw were piles of ash where buildings once stood and twenty dead soldiers.

"No human can do this," noted Zant as he saw the soldier with the torn up, bloody face. The face was split into thirds, one third peeled back to reveal the insides of the head. "Link. He still has that crystal of my magic!"

"Interesting, yet not alarming," said Zelda; she had found a piece of paper that the wind had blown her way and was reading it to herself:

**CONSPIRATORS** (for record-keeping purposes only)  
Doeg Suleiman  
Sheik Kakorman  
Link Remus Lykos  
Leah Suleiman  
Dinah Suleiman  
Sarah Suleiman  
T Suleiman  
Judah Fitez  
Gad Fitez  
Asher Fitez  
Ketura Yelene Lykos  
HRH TP Midna  
Ganondorf Dragmire

"Impossible," she said after reading Ganondorf's name. "Zant!"

Zant came to her side and read the list, also flabbergasted. "I took it from him! He could not have survived!"

"You know as well as I do that the Master Sword is the only blade able to slay the holder of the Triforce of Power, whoever that may be, but it is only temporary if you remove the sword from the body after dealing the final blow. But he had to be resurrected . . . by who, though?" She then noticed the star by Ganondorf's name; there had to be fine print on here somewhere.

She flipped the paper over, and sure enough, more was written on it:

Ganondorf was resurrected on October 30, in the sixteenth year of Zelda LXXI, by Ketura Lykos

"Ketura Lykos?" said Zant. "Link's daughter?"

"Well, it is obvious that she has some sort of special power. We should find her and bring her to our side. She may be of some use to us."

"Zelda, stop plotting a new plot while we have yet to carry out our current one!" snapped Zant. "What should we do about these conspirators?"

"We send parties all over Hyrule proper to hunt them. Tell the public that they are dangerous, and that Ganondorf has indeed returned and has taken the sun from the sky; that is why there is Twilight."

"How are we to handle these people once they are caught?"

"We kill the Fitezes, Kakorman, and the Suleimans. Torture Ganondorf, Midna, and Link a little before killing them; Link until he gives up the Triforce of Courage to us. And we offer Ketura to join us or die.

"Come, Zant, we must return to the palace. We have a conspiracy to thwart."

"And a wedding to plan," reminded Zant.

"I'm letting Daphnes do it all, since he's creative like that," said Zelda of her fiance. "I really could have a count if I wanted, but he's just so special to me. He also has this revolutionary idea to crack down on crime: secret police. I plan to form one soon; however, it will mean more taxes for the people. He also found this brilliant young painter to do our wedding portrait."

"You must be crazy about this guy," said Zant as he and Zelda walked away from the village.

"Oh, I'm not in love with him. He's just a really good friend, and the marriage is beneficial to me because I will become queen and it is good for him because he will be king."

The two went back to Hyrule Castle, the name Ketura Lykos still on Zelda's mind.


	14. Thirteen

**THIRTEEN**

"I-i-it's c-c-c-cold!" chattered Dinah.

The group had made it to Snowpeak, and they had made it to the top of a hill with an iced-over tree on it where they were currently resting. The Gerudo in the group were not dressed for the cold weather, so they all huddled together for warmth. Link became a wolf so his fur would keep him warm, and Midna snuggled up with him. Ketura leaned against the tree, keeping her jacket tight around her, and Ganondorf sat next to her so she could lean on him.

"What if we got some branches off this tree and make a fire?" she suggested out of the blue.

Ganondorf took heed of her idea, got off, and pulled a few icy branches off of the tree. He hit them on the snow-covered ground to shake off the ice, then snapped them into thirds before arranging them in a pile in the middle of the circle the group had formed. Finally, he took the lantern, opened it, stuck a stick into the flame, and tossed the ignited stick into the firewood.

"Yes, a fire!" said the Gerudos in non-simultaneous unison before scrambling to huddle around it. "Ketura, you're a genius," said Leah.

"Thanks," said Ketura, burying her face inside her jacket to prevent the chilly wind from biting at it.

"The snow looks beautiful in the Twilight," said Midna, using her hand to draw something in the snow.

"Everything looks beautiful to you in the Twilight, Midna," commented Doeg. "Shouldn't we - hey!" A snowball had whizzed through the air and hit him on the side of the head. He looked to see where the source came from; it was the Sheikah.

"What happened at the village?" asked Sheik, clearly upset.

"Some soldiers found us, tried to kill us, and burned it down," said Ganondorf, putting an arm around Ketura and pulling her closer to him.

"Yeah, we saw the bodies and the ashes," said Judah. "Whoever ripped that one guy's face apart, nice work."

Link lifted his tail to draw attention to himself.

"Why did you come to Snowpeak?" asked Gad.

"It's the one place in Hyrule few people would even consider coming to," said Midna.

"Plus, there's this light over that way," Ketura pointed down the hill. "It might be another piece of the Master Sol."

"Why don't you and Ganondorf go check it out, then?" suggested Sheik.

"I'm kind of unable to walk," admitted Ketura. "I was bitten and stung by a Skulltula."

"So are we just going to sit on this hill and conduct business from here?" said Asher sarcastically."

"No, there's a Yeti couple that will be glad to have us," said Midna."

"Well, can we go see them? Even with this fire, I'm still cold!" whined Dinah.

With that, everyone got ready to go. Doeg put out the fire, Ganondorf picked up Ketura, and everyone followed Link and Midna down the hill to a large stone mansion. Link turned back into a human and knocked on the large door.

A silent minute passed. The door opened.

**"LINK**!" boomed Yeto.

"Hey Yeto," greeted Link. "These are all of my friends, and we need a place to stay for a while; we don't know how long yet. Is that all right?"

"Of course. Anything for Link!" Yeto opened up the door and ushered his guests in. He led them through a cold foyer to the living room of the mansion. It contained a lit, roaring fireplace and several overstuffed chairs, one of them occupied by a Yeti woman wrapped in a blanket.

"Yeta, Link is here. He bring guests!" Yeto told his wife.

"Link?" she said. "It's you. You've gotten older, uh."

"Hello, Yeta." Link greeted Yeta. "How are you?"

"I'm feeling very well, uh," said Yeta. "Haven't been sick since last time you came."

"Guests! Sit down!" said Yeto.

Sadly, there weren't enough chairs for everyone, so Ketura, Doeg, Sheik, and Link got to sit down while everyone else either stood or sat on the floor (Midna sat on the armrest of Link's chair)

"You all in good health?" asked Yeto.

"Except for not being able to walk," said Ketura.

"Poor human girl. Yeto wondered why human girl carried around," said Yeto.

"It's transient, I think," said Ketura. "Have you two seen any stones that glow extremely bright like the light of the sun?"

"Yes, one fell from the sky through the window into our bedroom, uh," said Yeta. "So pretty . . . ."

"Can I have it?" Ketura asked next.

"Sure, uh. We have no use for it."

"How do we get to your bedroom?" asked Ganondorf.

"We'll go, we know where it is," volunteered Link, gesturing to himself and Midna. "Are there still ice monsters and stuff running around your mansion?"

"Yeto doesn't know," said Yeto.

"Oh well. We'll take them anyway. Ketura, give me that sword." Link said, pointing at the Master Sword.

"I want it back," said Ketura as she unstrapped the sword and handed it to her father.

"No guarantees," said Link as he and Midna went out a door on the left side of the room.

--

"I'm bored." Dinah groaned.

"Yeah. If Link were here we could still be working on our plans," said Doeg.

"I feel useless," said Ketura.

"Make yourself useful by following this advice: Be careful around wild creatures that can hurt you." Ganondorf said sarcastically.

"Oh! Yeto just remembered." Yeto suddenly said. "There are still ice monsters in mansion. Yeta and I keep them in that door." He pointed to the door on the right side of the room."

"Well, Link has nothing to worry about, does he, since he went the other way?" asked Sheik.

"Ice monsters escape sometimes, uh," said Yeta. "They love to eat humans like yourselves. Nothing like the monsters we had fifteen years ago, who didn't need food. Yeta knows not where these monsters came from, uh."

"So if those monsters break through that door, we're in trouble?" reviewed Ketura.

"Yes. Humans in trouble." said Yeto.

"Trouble . . . sweet!"

"Trouble's not sweet," said Ganondorf, who perched himself on the armrest of Ketura's chair, his arm spread across the back of the chair. "Trust me."

"Does big dark man get in trouble a lot?" asked Yeto.

"Please, my name is Ganondorf. And I don't get into trouble, I am trouble. Currently my goal in life is to amend for the mistakes I've made by being troublesome." His arm fell off of the chair and onto Ketura's shoulders. She leaned back into the chair.

The door on the right side of the room started to shake.

"Ice monsters try to escape," said Yeto, alarmed. He got up, went to the door, and braced himself against it.

"If monsters get in, they will go after the weakest first, so not-walking girl must stay where she is," added Yeta.

"Why don't we all just get up and run?" suggested Asher.

"That works." Yeto agreed as he forced his whole body weight on the shaking door. However, it finally burst open, the door falling over on Yeto, and out came ten strange beasts. Each was made of ice, had ruby red eyes, and had the head of a dragon and the body of a human, only with razor-sharp claws.

"Nobody move!" shouted Yeto.

After Ganondorf slid into the chair behind Ketura to completely wrap her up in his arms, nobody moved. However, one monster took notice of Ganondorf's move, inferred that Ketura was weak, and leapt her way in a feline motion.

The monster was able to rip Ganondorf off of her and throw him to the side. It then proceeded to stare intensely at a fear-filled Ketura, who was pressed back into her chair as far as she could go. There was no way she could move her arms, the way the monster was standing over her, but a peculiar feeling arose in her legs . . . .

She kicked the monster, and it flinched about an inch. "My legs work again!" she cried on impulse, but it roused the attention of the other ice monsters, who all turned their gaze from the others to her.

"Why is it always me?" she asked. She stood up, wobbled a little, then bolted for the door on the left side of the room. She opened it, flashed to the other side, shut the door behind her, and braced herself against it. Momentarily, it was a good thing to do, for someone or something was trying to force its way through.

"KETURA!" Ganondorf's voice shouted. He shot the door open, knocking Ketura into the snow, but she quickly got up.

"Hey, you drooling, repulsive popsicles! Over here!" Ganondorf shouted, and the monsters bolted outside after him. He jumped out of the way and shut the door behind them. One of the monsters noticed Ketura, and began to move towards her. She backed away slowly, checking through her peripheral vision for anything to use as a weapon; nothing but snow.

"Now, who wants a piece of me?" Ganondorf continued to taunt the ice monsters. One of them jumped at him; he swatted it out of the air and watched it land harshly on the ground. It didn't budge for some time.

Another attacked; it was hit as well and it landed on top of the first one. Nine of the ten were knocked out in this manner; the last one was the one who took notice of Ketura, and was now advancing on Ketura.

"No, you don't want to eat me. I'm all tough and raw, and cold - I mean warm. Plus, I have Skulltula venom in me, which might make you sick - " She jumped out of the way as the monster pounced; it crashed into a wall.

"Blue-eyed people don't taste that good!" she taunted.

The ice monster got up and faced Ketura again. It growled and ran her way again. She got out of the way, and right as it was beside her, she jumped on top of it. The monster immediately took notice and began to jerk every which way in an attempt to throw her off.

Suddenly, it stopped. It turned to look at Ganondorf, a hungry look in its eyes.

"Now, I doubt he tastes that good either. See, the darker the skin, the more bitter the flavor - GANONDORF GET OUT OF THE WAY!"

Too late. The ice monster had thrown her off and got Ganondorf, biting his forearm as it raised in front of his face. However, he was able to pull it off, throw it on the ground, place one of his feet on its legs, and use his good arm to snap the beast in two before discarding it with its fellow monsters. He then went to Ketura, dropping to his knees upon reaching her.

"Let me see," said Ketura as she took his arm and kneeled beside him. Dark blood oozed from the bite, which was white and cold around the edges. "Are you feeling faint or lightheaded?"

"No. It just hurts like - ah!" Ketura had tried to wipe some blood off of the wounds. "How did I get stuck with you, the one girl in all of Hyrule who manages to be both impulsive and caring?"

"You're just lucky," answered Ketura. She ripped about two inches of fabric off of the bottom of her blouse and wrapped it around Ganondorf's arm.

"There now, you just really ruined your favorite blouse," said Ganondorf jokingly.

"Some things are more important," replied Ketura, staring into his eyes for a few seconds. "Come on, let's go inside."

She helped Ganondorf up, threw his bad arm around her shoulders, and walked him back inside.

"How is it that I'm the one who gets bitten and stung and rendered unable to walk for hours upon hours yet all you get is one measly bite that hurts like who knows what?"

"I'm just lucky."


	15. Fourteen

**FOURTEEN**

"You killed monsters?" Yeto asked Ganondorf, who sat down next to the fireplace. His wound not only hurt, it made him feel cold all over. All the Sheikah and Gerudo with the exception of Sheik and Doeg had left the room to have a look around the mansion.

"I don't know. Do you need fire to destroy them permanently?"

"I believe so, uh," answered Yeta. "Is bad to leave them out in snow, otherwise they heal and come back."

"If they come back in, can I just take a burning log from the fireplace and whack them with it?" asked Ketura, who sat next to Ganondorf.

"Sure." Yeto permitted.

The door on the left side of the room opened; in came Link and Midna with the piece of the Master Sol. Link held a torch.

"Those monsters out there were evil," he complained. "One of them nearly got me."

"It got me," said Ganondorf, showing his wrapped up wound with a shiver.

"So we have three now," said Sheik. "The last one is out somewhere in the west of Hyrule."

"All the way on the other side of the country?" said Ketura. "The army is aware of our existence and is probably scouring Hyrule to find us as we speak. How dumb would it be to just walk across in broad daylight - I mean Twilight where everyone can see you?"

"Ketura, we killed all of the soldiers. Nobody knows about us," said Doeg, trying to be reassuring.

"Yeah, and some innocent traveler going through Eldin is going to ignore the smoke from the burning buildings," she returned sarcastically.

"Just how did they find us?" wondered Midna.

"She knew all along," said Ketura. "I only found out about you all because I saw a note on the Princess's desk that said something about the conspiracy."

"That doesn't answer how they found us."

"She knows where I am," said Link. "If you have a part of the Triforce, you can be sure of the location of anyone else who has another part. I know. Right now . . . Zelda's in Hyrule Castle, and Zant is in Zora's Domain."

"Those soldiers were after you!" exclaimed Doeg, pointing at Link. "You have to leave!"

"No I don't. Ketura, come here," Link beckoned for Ketura to come to him. He placed his right hand on top of the back of his left hand. The surface of his hand shimmered gold as a small golden triangle rose from his hand and floated above it.

"Take it," offered Link. "Get away from here, and they'll follow you away from here."

Ketura reached out and took the Triforce of Courage, watching it sink into the back of her left hand.

"Link, how is she going to pass undetected right under Zant's nose if she goes through Zora's Domain?" Ganondorf questioned.

"She won't," said Midna. "I can warp her to Kakariko Village, and I'll go with her to find the last piece of the Master Sol. And if the army, Zelda, or Zant find us, I'll just take her somewhere else."

"Where?" asked Ganondorf.

"Calm down. I can take care of teenagers with a taste for adventure and getting themselves hurt." said Midna with a smirk. "Ready to go, Ketura?"

"Yeah, as soon as I get a weapon," responded Ketura, looking at Link.

"Link, give her the sword," commanded Midna. He obeyed.

"Thanks, Dad," said Ketura. "How does this warp thing work?"

Midna pointed at the ceiling, and a swirling black portal appeared. She ascended, Ketura next, into the portal, and they were both gone.

Ganondorf shivered as he mumbled. "She went without me,"

"Well, you're injured, what good would you be?" asked Link, who heard him.

"It's just a bite," protested Ganondorf as he scooted closer to the fire.

"A bite that's making you cold."

Ganondorf said nothing.

Sheik, Doeg, and Link gathered around the table in the room to continue their plotting. Yeto and Yeta went to their bedroom so they wouldn't disturb the conspirators. Ganondorf sat in front of the fire, his knees to his chest, staring at the dancing flames.

_I feel useless, just like Ketura did. It feels weird, not having her by my side. I'll kill Midna if anything happens to her._

--

"That was odd," said Ketura as she landed next to Midna at the northern entrance of Kakariko Village.

There were Hylian soldiers in town. They walked around, talking to villagers, searching them, and even detaining a person.

"Nice move," said Ketura to Midna.

"Didn't you grow up here? Sneak to your house and lie low there!" Midna disappeared into Ketura's shadow.

Ketura saw a bush and dived behind it, then looked to see if Ganondorf was following. Then she remembered: Ganondorf wasn't here.

She located her house on the other side of the street. The sign that read I HAVE GONE AWAY FOR SOME TIME TO FIND MY FATHER still hung on the door. After positioning the Master Sword so it was hidden underneath her jacket, she casually got up and walked across the street to her house, only to be stopped by a soldier.

"Hey you!" he called. "What's your name?"

"Ketura . . . Fitzgerald." she lied. Lykos wasn't the most friendly name right now.

"What's your father's name?"

"Scott Fitzgerald," she said.

"Did you ever find him?" asked the soldier.

"I . . . found his grave in Lanayru field," Ketura told another lie.

"I'm sorry to hear that. What of your mother?"

"Her grave's in the graveyard that way," said Ketura as she pointed in the direction of the graveyard. "Now, I've finally come home to continue my education, maybe even marry, just do whatever it takes to be productive towards our society."

"I like your attitude," said the soldier. "Go about your business, then. Nice sword." He walked away.

Ketura took the sign off the door, took the key, unlocked the house, and went inside. It was good to be home.

She climbed up the ladder to her bedroom, opened her closet, and chose an emerald green blouse to change into. Snowpeak was too cold for a top with a midriff.

She went down to the kitchen and made herself a bowl of chicken noodle soup, making a mental note to herself to bring a bowl back for Ganondorf and to give the soup-loving Yeto the recipe.

"Hey, Midna," she said. Midna popped out of her shadow.

"Yes?"

"You spend a lot of time with my dad. How does he feel about me?"

"He _feels_ nothing towards you," said Midna sorrowfully.

"That's understandable," replied Ketura.

"Ketura, if you feel hurt by this, then you don't have to lie -"

"I'm not lying. I can understand that since he hasn't been around while I grew up, he doesn't know a thing about parenting. It really doesn't matter to me whether or not he's around; I don't need him."

"Oh, Ketura, yes you do. Teens need parents or at least a parental figure."

"I had my mom until I was thirteen."

"Thirteen is just the beginning of your teenage years. Until you're twenty-one you need the guidance of an adult."

"Well, I guess it was pure luck that I was able to take care of myself for a whole year after my mom died," snapped Ketura. "I can take care of myself, Midna. Besides, who took care of my dad? He was orphaned very young, wasn't he?"

"I took care of him during his adventures," said Midna. "If I hadn't gone back to the Twilight Realm, he might not have gone to prison." She sighed and buried her face in her hands.

"Midna, don't blame yourself."

"If I didn't feel the need to go out and locate those blasted owl statues for him, he wouldn't have had that - that - _fling_ with Ilia!" Midna now sounded thoroughly upset. "You do know your parents only got married because your mother was pregnant?"

"_I_ was the embarrassment?" Ketura said this then paused. "He's embarrassed of me?"

"Yes."

"He should be embarrassed of himself, the way he's treating me. I don't need him. I don't need anyone!"

"Liar. You're being taken care of and you're not even aware of it."

Ketura nodded.

"But let me guess: you were fine before without Ganondorf. If anything happened to him, you'd be fine again?"

"No, it's different with him than with Dad."

"How so?" asked Midna skeptically.

"My mom never let me have any friends while I grew up, so the only life I ever knew was a solitary one. I was self-supporting, even when it came to getting my own money. The I-don't-need-anyone mentality was beaten into my head. But . . . I dug him up, accidentally brought him back, and joined him so I could find Dad. Somewhere along the way, I realized that a person isn't meant to spend his or her life alone. He opened my eyes, and I gained life along with him." She paused. "Dear Nayru, I feel silly!"

Midna started laughing. "Are you done with your soup?" she asked after her giggle fit.

"Yeah. To Death Mountain?"

"Sure, let's go!"


	16. Fifteen

**FIFTEEN**

"I hope the Gorons aren't any trouble," said Midna as she floated alongside Ketura.

"The Gorons are gone," said Ketura, climbing up a rock. "Many of them died when they went to build that tower. Those that remained or came back got sick of being bullied and bossed around by _her_ that they left and went far away."

"Fifteen years ago, the Gorons had a grudge against humans, and one of them knocked Link off this cliff that you're climbing right now!" reminisced Midna, chuckling at the memory.

"Why were the Gorons mad at humans?"

"I think that was when Zelda first started her pure Hylian stuff. The Gorons got offended because she called them inferior beings."

"She offended me when she had the Spirit Spring drained and the Light Spirit Eldin killed. All the Light Spirits were killed and turned into the Master Sol, because some people worshiped them. I hate it when someone tells others how to think."

Ketura made it to the top of the cliff and started to walk briskly up the trail, avoiding geysers of steam that spontaneously erupted. Soon, she made it to a large open area. There was one shorter mountain closer by, and a smoking volcano to the west of the first mountain. Ketura could see pure light coming from the top of the volcano.

"It's over there," she said, pointing at Death Mountain. "How do I get up there?"

"I don't know! I've been in the mines, and they're probably long shut down by now!"

"We'll find our own way, then."

--

Ketura and Midna made their way up the first, smaller mountain into a circular room made of stone. There was once a door between the two unlit torches, but it was sealed up by a boulder. A platform rose in the middle of the room.

"Gorons loved sumo wrestling," remembered Midna. "Why is there and arrow painted on the platform?" Indeed, an arrow pointing left was painted on the platform. Both of them looked that way, but saw nothing.

"Maybe the door's hidden in the wall," suggested Midna, floating over to it. "Ketura, come feel for it with me."

Ketura went to the wall and ran her hands all over it, until she pressed down on a section that sank into the wall. A door opened up to the outside.

"Excellent work," said Midna. She became the shadow and Ketura went through the door, waiting for it to shut behind them.

A cliff ran along the edge of the mountain, with an old suspended bridge connecting it to Death Mountain. Without hesitation, Ketura stepped onto the bridge and walked across. On the other side, a doorway led into the crater.

"Something's wrong," said Ketura. "Nothing's attacked us yet."

"How about now?" a voice hissed behind them. Ketura jumped then turned around. She couldn't believe it.

Zant.

"You're not Link," said Zant. "You're his pretty little daughter with the special power."

"Hey, I object to being called little," said Ketura. "And the only special thing I have with me that could give me any power is the Triforce of Courage."

"Be a good girl and give that to me, then, so I won't have to kill you and everyone you care about."

"Have fun trying to find him," retorted Ketura, slowly stepping backwards.

"I wasn't referring to the Triforce, actually. You have some other power granted to you by the gods!"

"No I don't!"

"Then how is Ganondorf alive?" asked Zant.

"How - how do you know?"

"Someone wrote down a list of every conspirator in your group, and noted that he was raised by a Ketura Lykos. Zelda and I - spitting's impolite - went to the village, and she found the list. Nobody can resurrect the dead unless they have a special power."

"I have no power!" insisted Ketura. "All I did was pray!"

"To which god?"

"All of them!" Without another word or though, Ketura turned around and dashed into the crater. She ran around the edges, ignoring the intense heat, looking for the Master Sol fragment. She spotted it about six feet in front of her, and picked it up.

"Midna!" she said; Midna appeared and took the Master Sol.

"Hello Midna," Zant's voice said. Midna looked surprised and horrified to see him. "Still lowering yourself to the level of common humans? How many generations of Lykos will you accompany on their journeys?"

"This is my first time I've been anywhere with Ketura," said Midna. "She's been running around with Ganondorf mostly."

"Last chance, Ketura," said Zant. "Give me the Triforce of Courage or die."

Ketura said nothing; she instead brandished the Master Sword. Zant flinched.

"No - please, no!" begged Zant, suddenly sounding worried and weak. He abandoned his upright stance and hunched over, holding his hands in front of him.

"Afraid of it?" provoked Ketura, holding it in front of her and moving closer to Zant.

"Yes, but I will fight back. I will!" Zant jumped to the side in a wild manner. He raised his arms over his head, clapped his hands together, and a fireball shot from their impact at Ketura. She used the Sword like a baseball bat and swung it back at him; she missed him by a foot.

Zant continued to shoot fireballs and Ketura continued to hit them away. Ketura moved closer and closer to Zant with each swing, hoping to run him through. Instead, Zant took notice and pushed her away. Midna caught the Master Sword as it flew from Ketura's hand. Zant issued a jet of flames from each hand, and Ketura held her arms in front of her face. Her hands were badly burned.

She was able to roll out of the way towards Midna, who put away the Master Sword, grabbed Ketura, and warped away from the scene.

--

Ketura and Midna reappeared on the hill above the mansion with the lone tree.

"He'll be here soon," said Midna. "We've got to get you out of Snowpeak, or we put everyone else in danger. Telma should take you in. She can treat your burns and everything."

Ketura paid no attention; the pain of her burns were too much for her to take in.

"I know burns hurt," said Midna soothingly, "but I've got to take you to Castle Town."

"But - Midna - "

"I'll come back and explain to everyone, but first, we have to go." Without another word, Midna warped the two to Telma's bar. Just as Midna predicted, Telma consented to hide Ketura in the bar once a doctor treated her burns. Midna then went back to Snowpeak to break the news.

--

She reappeared in the mansion's living room, where the conspirators were sitting and talking.

"Everyone, I have good news and bad news."

"Good news?" said Doeg.

"Bad news?" said Link.

"Where's Ketura?" asked Ganondorf.

"The good news: we got the final piece of the Master Sol!" said Midna, producing the piece. "The bad news: Ketura and I ran into Zant."

"She hasn't been captured, has she?" Ganondorf interrupted.

"No, no, no. Zant used some crazy fire thingy to burn her hands. Ganondorf, she's fine. She's in Castle Town with Telma."

Ganondorf looked over to Link angrily. "What?" asked Link.

"Why did you give it to her?" demanded Ganondorf. "You knew that she would be followed. Thanks to you, she's hurt and not here!"

"What's the loss of one person compared to twelve?" Link shot back.

"Well, Telma's in danger now," said Doeg indignantly.

"Someone wrote down everyone's name on a sheet of paper," announced Midna. "And Zant thinks Ketura has some special power."

"Who wrote our names down?" asked Sheik.

"I did," confessed Link. "You know, just to keep record of everyone. I thought it would burn with the rest of the village."

"Well, apparently not!" snapped Leah.

"We're all in danger!" squealed Dinah.

"We've been in danger!" said Sarah.

"Women," muttered the three Sheikah men.

"Ganondorf, you've not said anything about this dumb thing I'm done. Aren't you mad at me?" asked Link mockingly.

"I've never been angrier." Ganondorf said shortly. "It's true, one dead person is better than twelve dead people, but the one person here is the one you care the least about."

Link froze upon hearing the accusation. "Are you saying that -- _she's my daughter._"

"You should start acting like her father,"

"We talked about this," said Midna randomly. "Even if you did show fatherly affection towards Ketura, Link, she'd reject it. She doesn't need you or even want you around."

"What?"

"Are you embarrassed of her?" asked Midna.

"Yes, I am," admitted Link. "I am ashamed that I am her father. No family member of mine has ever chosen such despicable companionship."

"Excuse me?" snapped Ganondorf, standing up. "I'm despicable?"

"The most despicable person to ever roam the world. You're a thief, a usurper, a murderer -"

"I used to be those things!" roared Ganondorf. "But I've changed. Why can't you see that?"

Link remained silent, an angry glare set on his face.

"Midna, take me to Castle Town," said Ganondorf. "Please."

Everyone was relieved greatly when Midna warped away with Ganondorf and only she returned minutes later. However, Midna turned away from Link when he tried to talk to her. She warped away and wasn't seen for a while.


	17. Sixteen

**SIXTEEN**

"How's the wine?" asked Telma as she watched Ketura drink a small glass of wine.

"It's okay," said Ketura, setting down the glass and placing her bandaged hands on her lap. "Thanks."

"I've got to open the bar in a few minutes, so I'll tuck you away underneath the floor. There are beds, and books - the good ones that got censored - along with lamps so it's not dark down there."

"What if I remove the Triforce of Courage and hide it down there?" asked Ketura. "So I can go through town freely as I please and not worry about getting caught?"

"That could work," pondered Telma. "Now, the entrance to the little hidey-hole is -"

"I have a better idea," interrupted Ketura. She placed her right hand upon her left hand and removed the Triforce of Courage. "I'll be right back."

Ketura stepped outside the bar, tucking the Triforce of Courage in her pocket and leaving town to the area outside of the south gate. She hid behind a tree, took out the Triforce of Courage, and thought about how to split it into pieces. She unsheathed the Master Sword, and, holding it by the blade, plunged it into the middle of the golden triangle.

The Triforce of Courage split into eight pieces in her hand. Then, one by one, each piece flew away across the twilit sky to another part of Hyrule.

"There," she said, putting the Master Sword away and returning to the bar.

"What did you do?" asked Telma when Ketura came back in.

"I broke it into eight pieces, and they all scattered."

"Good for you, hon," said Telma. "Now you're free. You can roam the town as you please, but if anyone asks your name, it's Ketura Sumers. You're a distant cousin of mine."

"You're not using your real last name?"

"Of course not. Suleiman's a Gerudo name, and a Gerudo name would imply that I'm not purely Hylian."

"Well, Telma, you're very kind, and I'm grateful for everything you're doing."

"Anything for Link's -- hello there, Cornelius!"

"G'day, Telma," a man entered the bar. He looked rough and rugged in dirty overalls. "Who's the little lady with the bandaged hands?"

"My cousin, Ketura,"

"Ketura?" Cornelius looked suspicious.

"Not Ketura Lykos! Ketura Sumers," said Ketura. "I burned my hands while cooking." She looked out the window, and she couldn't believe her eyes. Midna was out there, talking to a very large barrel. She pointed at the bar and then at all of the people in the street shopping for the day.

"I forgot something outside, Telma," she said before going out the door and across the street to Midna.

"Midna, what are you doing? Why are you talking to that barrel?" she asked.

"That you, Ketura?" a muffled voice came from the barrel.

"Can you help me get this inside?" Midna asked Ketura. "I'm attracting too much attention."

"Yeah, okay," agreed Ketura. She pushed the barrel with great effort across the street, holding up traffic. She almost ran into one young man who was carrying a can of paint that would have spilled all over if she hit him. Once back to the bar, she opened the door and pushed it open.

"I forgot. Doeg sent you this. It's every birthday present he ever meant to send you."

"Oh how sweet of him," said Telma. She noted how Ketura mouthed "Open it later" while pushing the barrel to a corner of the bar.

"Who's this Doeg, Telma?" asked Cornelius.

"Oh, he's my brother who lives in Kakariko. He's forgetful, very forgetful."

The bar remained open for six hours, people coming and going as they pleased during that time. Finally, the bar was closed down, the blinds over the windows, and Ketura opened the barrel. Ganondorf popped out.

"Ketura," he said, taking one of her hands.

"Hi." Ketura said lightly.

"Does Zant know where you are?"

"I don't think so. You see, I split it into eight pieces and they all scattered themselves across Hyrule."

"Brilliant. He'll then go to those eight places and look for you there . . . but once he sees each shard, he'll reassemble it like we reassembled the Master Sol." He moved to sit down at the nearest table, Ketura with him.

"I should have thought it through, I know." Ketura sighed, scooting her chair closer to Ganondorf. "I've practically given him the Triforce of Courage."

"Not exactly," said Ganondorf, placing his arm across her shoulders. "Let's say it rains, or there's a landslide that covers up a piece. He'll know it's in the general area, but not sure of its exact location. He and Zelda will -"

"No spitting in the bar!" called Telma.

"-need the whole of it to unite the entire Triforce."

Ketura nodded, then looked at her hands.

"That's right, he burned you," said Ganondorf, gently taking her left hand. "You're okay now, aren't you?"

"Yeah," said Ketura.

"I should have thought so," said Ganondorf, pulling her completely to his side. He raised his hand and placed it on the side of her head. "I love you."

"Did you just say what I think you just said?"

Ganondorf laughed. "Yeah, I did."

--

"So, we've all decided that you're going to the ball," Ganondorf said to Ketura a few hours later. The two and Telma (Midna had returned to Snowpeak) were meeting concerning the conspiracy.

"You're kidding. The Princess's wedding ball?" scoffed Ketura.

"Yes. It's approximately twenty days away. I keep track of time." Telma said, pointing to the hourglass on the counter. "If you're going to go, then you need to roam around town during the 'day', but as inconspicuosly as possible. Meet people. Make sure they know who you are so you can blend in at the ball."

"But . . . I can't dance."

"Don't worry, hon," said Telma. "Meet a nice boy who will teach you."

"No boys." Ganondorf said shortly. "I despise teenage boys."

"You despise anyone who might take my attention off of you," corrected Ketura. "And I have no interest in a romantic relationship with the opposite sex."

"A wise thing at fifteen," commented Telma, "but I'm not telling you to get a boyfriend. Just be recognized by someone."

"Won't I need some sort of fancy dress?" asked Ketura.

"Roaming town is excellent time for dress shopping."

"Telma. I havent' worn a dress since I was six. And I left all my money at Snowpeak!"

"I have money for you," said Telma.

"Thanks," said Ketura disdainfully.

"You'll also need a nice hairstyle and some jewelry."

"_Jewelry!?"_ spat Ketura. "As in necklace, bracelet . . . earrings?"

"You've been bitten, stung, and burned. Getting your ears pierced will be nothing," said Ganondorf.

"That'll just draw attention to my ears. My not-pointed ears." It was the first time that anybody noticed that Ketura always wore her hair down, covering her ears. "I'm only seventy-five-percent Hylian."

"Ketura, they're not weeding us out yet," said Telma. "Don't panic. Get some sleep."

--

"Strange," said Zant to himself. He had gone to the hill at Snowpeak, for that was where he detected Ketura. Now, she was nowhere. She must have gotten rid of the Triforce of Courage. He closed his eyes, waiting to divine the location of the Triforce of Courage.

"Impossible." For he did not sense it anywhere in the world.


	18. Seventeen

**SEVENTEEN**

Ketura was kicked out of the bar by Telma after a nap on an uncomfortable chair. She was given two hundred rupees to spend as she pleased. "And don't come back until the bar's closed for the current twenty-four hour period!"

She walked out to the street. People were out and about, shopping and living life. Almost all were well dressed and groomed, no burnt hands, and their ears were pointed. These were the people who were going to be at the ball. She had to become one of them.

She desperately wanted to go back to the bar, but she wasn't allowed back there. Instead, she walked out to the central square and sat at the fountain in the middle. A notice was glued to the fountain next to her:

**WANTED  
**The following people are wanted for conspiring against  
Her Royal Highness Princess Zelda and His Lordship Zant:  
Doeg Suleiman, Leah Suleiman, Dinah Suleiman, Sarah Suleiman,  
T Suleiman, Sheik Kakorman, Gad Fitez, Judah Fitez, Dan Fitez,  
Link Remus Lykos, Ketura Yelene Lykos, HRH Midna the Twilight Princess,  
Ganondorf Dragmire.  
If you see any of these people, please notify local authorities immediately.  
All are believed to be armed and dangerous, Dragmire especially.  
Ketura Lykos recently suffered burn injuries to her hands, so check for  
a girl with bandaged or scarred hands.

_Great,_ thought Ketura as she read it. _I'm screwed. _She peeled it off the fountain and put it in her bag.

Ketura got up and walked to the eastern road, where a large tent was set up. She went inside and watched a boy make a fool out of himself as he tried to collect all the orbs in the caged area in a certain amount of time. She left and went to the western road; nothing was there except the doctor who treated her. A clothing store was nearby, so she went in and bought a pair of black gloves to wear over her bandages, which drew suspicious glares from the shoppers.

"I was cooking when my little brother ran through the kitchen, ran into me, and knocked a pot off of the stove," she invented when the silence got the best of her. "The water poured all over my hands. And my name's Ketura Sumers."

She then went back to the southern road to look at paintings set up at a pavilion along a building. They were of simple subjects: a basket of arranged fruit, a boquet of flowers, pointy-eared children playing with a ball. Her favorite of them all was that of an ocean, with fluffy white clouds in the sky, and the wind blowing. It was the simplest, yet the most beautiful somehow . . . .

Nobody was there running the stall, so she moved on to look at some jewelry, cringing at the sight of earrings. True, she could handle the pain of getting her ears pierced, but needles made her uncomfortable when they were being inserted into her body. The sight of the Skulltula's stinger sticking through her shoulder was enough to make her vomit without the venom.

Ketura eventually tired of looking around, so she returned to the back alley where the bar sat and waited outside it for the six hours the bar was open. When that time was up, Telma invited her in.

"Make some friends?" she asked.

"No. Everyone kept giving me weird looks until I bought the gloves."

"Why so?" inquired Telma.

"Where's Ganondorf? He needs to see this to."

Before letting Ganondorf out of his hiding spot, Telma closed the blinds and the curtains of the lone window. When all three of them were assembled at the counter, Ketura showed them the notice.

"'T Suleiman?' Well, at least my identity's a secret for the most part," said Telma.

"How could they just exploit your injuries like that to aid in your capture?" Ganondorf asked Ketura indignantly. "You shouldn't go out anymore."

"I bought some gloves," Ketura showed the gloves before taking them off. "And I stuck with the Sumers story."

"Good girl. You can relax a bit, then I'll tell you when it's noon - well, if we still had normal day and night, it would be noon. It's about midnight now. I'm going to go to sleep." Telma stepped out from behind the counter and went to the back of the bar. She opened a door into a bedroom and disappeared behind it.

"So you didn't enjoy your day?" asked Ganondorf, going to sit at a table. He gestured for Ketura to join him.

"No, I didn't. It's a big city, with a lot of stuff in it. How could I enjoy it?" She tried to sit in her own chair, but Ganondorf pulled her out of it and hoister her into his lap. "Okay, please don't do that again."

"I missed you. I hate being away from you for long periods of time."

"And I hate being away from you."

"So Ketura, do you love me back?"

Ketura rolled her eyes. "Yeah."

The two sat in silence for a minute, then Ganondorf spoke:

"What do you plan to do after we've killed Zelda and Zant? You know, if she sees dried saliva on the floor, she won't be very happy."

"I'm going to leave Hyrule," said Ketura. "I hate it here. Besides, I'll still be some wanted criminal after we've carried out our plan. Yes, you can come with me, so don't even ask. You can plan some hostile takeover that will actually work because for once the hero's on your side."

"Well . . . ." Ganondorf's tone indicated that she was wrong about something. "Your dad and I don't exactly get along."

"Of course you don't. He tried to kill you, remember?"

"It's not that. Part of his not wanting anything to do with you is indeed me. It's because of my old ways. He still sees me as a thief, usurper, and murderer. He doesn't like that you've chosen me to replace him."

"Wow," breathed Ketura.

"I can understand that he's still bitter and angry at the world because of his fifteen-year stint in jail and he's guilty because he hasn't been there for you. But he has no right to take it out on others. He's the one that needs redemption, not me."

Pause.

"Why are you willing to be my friend when you know what I am capable of?" Ganondorf asked her.

"You're willing to be mine," yawned Ketura. "I don't want to be alone anymore."

"Don't worry. After this is all over, neither of us will ever be alone again."

Even though Ganondorf couldn't see, Ketura smiled as she snuggled up against him and fell asleep.

--

Ketura was standing on top of the tower, Castle Town looking like a minature city below her. She was covered in blood and various wounds all over her body. She was faced with two choices: either jump and fall to her death or be killed by Zant and some soldiers.

"Give it to me!" hissed Zant.

"No!" She charged on her enemies, killing the soldiers swiftly and then entering a swordfight with Zant. She easily defeated him, running him through with the Master Sword like she had tried to do at Death Mountain. Zant fell down, dead.

Curious about what was under his helmet, Ketura removed it, and what she saw horrified her. It was Ganondorf's head behind the mask.

The dream faded.


	19. Eighteen

**EIGHTEEN**

"Midna, I want to talk to you." Link found Midna in the room of the mansion that housed a small chapel with many pews all lined up in rows. She was sitting on a pew, crying quietly.

"About what? Who else do you hate?"

"It's not that. I just hate seeing you upset."

"I hate seeing anyone upset," said Midna, wiping her tears. "Ketura's a really good girl. She's just like you were at the age of fifteen. She's your daughter, not Ganondorf."

"Can we leave Ganondorf out of this?" asked Link, annoyed at the thought of his daughter's taste in best friends.

"You shouldn't judge people by the company they keep or the circumstances of their birth."

"Midna, you shouldn't tell me how to live!" protested Link as he sat next to Midna and picked her up. "No, it's not about Ketura, or Ganondorf, or anyone. I'm going to accept that Ketura's rejected me and chosen Ganondorf to be her father figure. Do you know of another way to the Twilight Realm?"

"Yes, there is another way," said Midna. "It's a white conductor's baton. It's called the Waker, and it lets you borrow the power of the gods."

"How is any different from the Triforce?" asked Link.

"The Triforce is the power of the gods; the Waker is just a lending tool. There is a certain song you conduct to get to the Twilight Realm, and if you conduct it in reverse, you can access the void between the two realms."

"I remember it. Wasn't it the baton you left with me before you returned to the Twilight Realm?"

"Yes it was. I took advantage of your not knowing its function and left it with you, so even if you did learn what it was, you would do the right thing and not use it. I just can't believe you took it with you everywhere you went."

"It was yours after all," said Link, stroking Midna's cheek with his fingertips. "I wanted to keep the one reminder of the only woman I could ever love with me."

Midna smiled. "And you gave me your shield."

"Hey, I no longer had any use for it. Besides, I could always get another one if I really needed it."

"True, true."

The two sat in the quiet chapel for a while, Link holding Midna, longing to find a way to change her back into her true form: the tall, beautiful Twilight Princess she really was.

--

What must have been days passed since Ganondorf left to go to Castle Town, at least two weeks, and the plans for the assault on Castle Town were final. Ketura would attend the ball like a regular person as everyone else hid in a nearby hallway where she would attempt to get Zelda alone. Everyone would emerge and stab Zelda until she was killed, then Ganondorf would go to the partygoers and scare them out of the castle so the conspirators could then dispose of Zant. After Zant was dead, anyone that was still alive could take the reassembled Master Sol (which was kept wrapped up; it gave off a light so bright when intact that it almost rendered Sheik blind) to the top of the Tower and return it to the void.

"What is today?" Doeg asked Sheik.

"It's maybe November the twenty-eighth," said Sheik. "The ball's on the thirtieth. I say it's time to go rendezvous in Castle Town with Telma. HOWEVER, we must all go two at a time, or we'll attract attention. Gerudos, you might have to sneak around to get to the bar."

"Sheik, I can just warp people to the bar, my hair's more or less back to its original length," inserted Midna.

"That makes things much easier." Doeg said happily. "Warp us, Midna."

--

Midna waited until noon to begin to warp people to Telma's bar. She took Sheik first, then Doeg, then his sisters, then the Fitez brothers, and finally Link. Upon arrival, they were all greeted by Telma and Ganondorf, told what Ketura was doing for twelve hours each day, and ushered them into the underground room ("After all, the bar's supposed to be closed. People can't be seen running around inside." Once inside, she showed the newcomers the wanted notice. They all took it well.

"So, if Ketura's going to the ball," said Leah, "can we do her hair and stuff?"

"She'll love that," said Ganondorf sarcastically.

"That's what we're doing," said Telma. "I think we're going to curl it."

"She's really going to enjoy that,"

"Ganondorf, shut up." Telma snapped. "We just need to wait. I think she's going to buy a dress today."


	20. Nineteen

**NINETEEN**

Nathan was tired of hearing his mother's nagging all the time. "Painting is a hobby, not a career. Get a real job!" "You're seventeen, can't you get yourself a girlfriend?" "Have you ironed your suit for the ball tonight?" He was glad to take his most recent work of art, a necklace, and go to his pavilion on the south road of Castle Town.

Every day, Nathan had noticed a lost-looking girl with bright red hair and blue eyes walk around town, looking at wares yet never buying them. She must have been poor, and cold, as suggested by her gloves. She would even stop and admire his artwork from afar.

Today, she wasn't wearing her gloves, showing mildly scarred hands. She held a bundle in her arms - a garment bag, maybe, and a box on top of it. She was coming to his pavilion to look at his paintings up close . . . .

"Hi," said Nathan as coolly as possible, smoothing his shaggy black hair out.

"Hello," said the girl. She noticed the necklace he had finished making. He was quite proud of it: a small wood disc painted black with a diamond set in the center of the disc; it hung from a black silk cord. The thing he was most proud of was his ability to find the diamond, which he found by looking all through town and finally buying it for fifty rupees. "This is really nice," she said, picking up and admiring the diamond. "How much?"

"Sixty rupees," said Nathan.

"Perfect; that's how much money I have left after buying a dress for the ball," she said while dishing out the money. "I really don't want to go. I'm not a ball person."

"Neither am I," he said, admiring the color of her eyes. "Say, what's your name?"

"Ketura Sumers," she answered right off the bat.

"Ketura?" Nathan had been required by law to post a wanted notice at his pavilion, and he knew each name in the conspiracy by heart.

"No, not Ketura Lykos. Ketura _Sumers_." Ketura said as she put on the necklace. It hung quite well, the diamond reaching down to the middle of her collarbone. "This will go well with my dress."

"What does it look like? Not that it matters; you're beautiful enough to wear anything and still look good. Even that blouse and jacket that are singed at the sleeves."

Ketura both blushed and rolled hers sleeves up. "That's very kind of you," she said. "It's black, with straps and a V neckline, and the skirt goes all the way to my feet. It's the only one that wasn't lacy or ruffles or pink. Um, I've got to go."

"Where? To sit outside of Telma's bar like you do all the time? Stay a while."

Ketura hesitated before answering. "Oh, all right."

"Come sit next to me and talk a while."

Nathan watched as Ketura came into his pavilion and sat about two feet away and watched him paint a forest landscape. He always sketched his subject with a pencil first before adding the paint.

"Your paintings all seem to be inanimate objects, except that one with the kids," noted Ketura. "Why is that?"

"Censorship," lamented Nathan, drawing his horizon line before sketching his first tree. "I'd happily paint portraits of other races in Hyrule, but it's illegal. Apparently, Gorons and Zoras are extinct."

Ketura looked like she wanted to say something, but held her tongue.

"It's the Princess's pure Hylian crap," he continued. "It may be true that Hylia is the race closest to the gods - I mean Nayru, but that doesn't mean everyone else is inferior and should be stamped out. Even us that are human, but aren't pure Hylian."

"You too?" Ketura whispered, pulling her hair over her right ear back to show an ear with a round tip.

"Yeah," said Nathan. "Which side is the tainted one?"

"My mother wasn't pure Hylian," said Ketura. "The village my parents grew up in used to be a refugee camp for both Hylians and Sheikah who fled from famines and disaster in Hyrule proper. They stayed away even when the magician Agahnim came to the rescue. I guess they all intermarried and mixed up the genes. What about you?"

"One of my father's ancestors was a prominent Gerudo thief from five hundred years ago named Nabooru Suleiman. She was spared from being executed along with the rest of the tribe because she was the Sage of Spirits. Of course, the Gerudo tribe was mostly female to begin with, so nobody was purely Gerudo."

Nathan then stopped talking of his ancestry as a soldier walked by (he saw Ketura put her hands in her pockets as the soldier passed) and concentrated on his forest painting. Lucky for him, Ketura had been to the forest before ("And I have the bite to prove it," she added with a chuckle) so Nathan changed his drawing to a perspective drawing with undergrowth abounding.

"What if you were to add two kids playing music: one with a trumpet made of a leaf, the other with a blue violin?"

"What race are these kids?" asked Nathan.

"I don't know," shrugged Ketura. "One of them is a Skull Kid."

"It's illegal, then. I could put forest wildlife. What kind of animals live in the forest?"

"Other than Skulltulas, monkeys."

Nathan drew monkeys into his forest.

"So, you're one of those people who likes to travel," said Nathan as he finished drawing his fifth monkey.

"Yeah, I am. Hyrule's an interesting place." Ketura replied. "Despite how interesting it is, I hate it here. I'm going to leave soon."

"I'm not too fond of Hyrule, either. I want to paint and not be worried that what I'm painting is illegal. Can I come with you?"

Ketura looked uneasy all of the sudden. "I don't know. I'm a bit of a loner." Obviously a lie, but Nathan didn't object. "I don't even know what's out there other than Hyrule. I could go to Termina, I guess."

"So, you're going to the ball," said Nathan unexpectedly.

"Way to change the subject," scoffed Ketura. "Why, are you?"

"I kind of have to. I painted the wedding portrait for the King and Queen. The wedding's in about five hours, so I'm going to have to close down soon and get ready to go so I can be there and present the portrait."

"That's nice. A lovely portrait of a -" Ketura dropped her voice. "-not so lovely person."

"I know, but she paid good money for it."

All conversation ceased, for Nathan needed utmost concentration to paint in the colors. It was a nice portrait of monkeys in the woods. He laid it out to dry and conducted business with people who wanted to buy his paintings.

"Hey there Nathan!" a man called. "I see you have yourself a girlfriend!"

"She's not my girlfriend!" Nathan called back. "Do you, though?"

"What, be your girlfriend?" asked Ketura; she seemed repulsed at the idea. "I don't want romance; I'm only fifteen. Try again when I'm sixteen."

"When will that be?"

"Today's the twenty-eighth, right?"

"Yeah,"

"I'll be sixteen on December the second. But I'll be long gone by then."

"What a shame." Nathan said as he checked his clock. "Oh, dear Nayru, I've got to go. It's five, and the wedding's at seven o'clock."

"All right, I guess I'll be going home." Ketura gathered her garment bag and box and got up.

"Shall I see you at the ball later?" asked Nathan.

"Yeah. But let me warn you: I can't dance."

"I'll just have to teach you, then."

Ketura laughed before giving him another look and walking away.

_She's really something,_ Nathan thought as he put away his paintings and went home. _But I have this feeling that she's hiding something from me._


	21. Twenty

**TWENTY**

Nathan was a really nice guy, but what would Ganondorf think if he knew Ketura spent part of her day with a teenage boy? Especially one who was obviously interested in a romantic relationship?

All around Ketura, shops were closing down so their owners could go home and get ready for the wedding. As far as she knew, Telma wasn't going, so hopefully she could come to the bar early today. Luckily, she was right. The sign on the bar's door read CLOSED.

She slung her garment bag over one arm and her shoebox on top of it (she liked the dress but hated the shoes) before knocking on the door.

"We're closed!" rang Telma's voice.

"It's me," said Ketura.

"Come in," said Telma, and Ketura did so. Once she was inside, Telma said "Oh, you bought a dress today!"

"Yeah, I did," said Ketura. "These shoes are horrible though. Look." She put the garment bag and shoebox down on the counter and opened the box. Inside were a pair of strappy black shoes with three-inch heels. "Who in their right mind would wear such high heels?"

"Why would anyone wear heels at all?" Ganondorf's voice startled her as he sat down next to her at the counter. "Ooh, you poor thing."

"Telma, can I just go barefoot?"

"If you're not going to wear the shoes, you might as well go naked," objected Telma.

"Bring me a Skulltula to fight, please," whined Ketura. "I'd rather go lame again than wear those torture mechanisms."

"That's not even the best part," said Ganondorf, with blatant sarcasm. "They're going to curl your hair and pierce your ears!"

"No no no. I hate needles! Wait - who's they?"

"Everybody else showed up today, and they're in the hidey-hole." Telma informed her. "My sisters and I will give you the makeover. But not yet. Hey, nice necklace."

"Thanks," said Ketura. "There's this painter on the south road who made it."

"Are you talking about Nathan Alvarez?" said Telma. "He's really good. And young - he's only seventeen."

_Seventeen?_ thought Ketura, a little surprised.

"Is he going to the ball?" Telma continued.

"Yes, he is,"

"Did you talk to him other than buying that necklace?"

"Yes," said Ketura tiredly. _Here comes trouble._

"Good!" said Telma. "You got someone outside the conspiracy to know you."

"Could have picked someone other than a teenage boy," said Ganondorf. "They're worse than I am. And I know: I was once a teenage boy."

"Human behavior changes over five hundred years," said Telma. "Besides, you and Nathan are just friends, right, Ketura?"

"Of course. What else would we be?"

Ganondorf rolled his eyes.

--

Ketura ate some chicken and took a nap in Telma's room, all of her dreams concerning needles moving closer and closer to her. It scared her so much that she woke up with a start, looked around the room, saw no needles, and fell back asleep.

Telma's room was cozy and inviting; she had a bed, a vanity, a closet, and a bathtub with running water. A big, comfortable chair sat next to the vanity. All the furniture and upholstery in the room was a shade of either red or brown.

She woke up ten hours later to the sound of the door opening. In came Telma and her sisters. Telma held the garment bag and shoebox; Leah had a bucket full of cloth; Dinah carried a bucket of shampoo, soap, lotion, and various other stuff; and Sarah had a small jewelry box which must have contained the dreaded pair of earrings and a slice of apple.

"First things first, Ketura," said Dinah as she pulled Ketura off the bed, "You need a bath."

"What we're going to do is wash your hair and your body, then roll your hair up in these!" Leah held up a strip of cloth.

"Then, we're going to pierce your ears." said Sarah. Ketura groaned.

Telma put the garment bag and shoebox on the bed. She opened the garment bag and pulled out Ketura's dress. "Very nice," she commented, looking at the V-neck and the open back. "No lace or ruffles?"

"No!" said Ketura. "Lace and ruffles are ugly."

Once Sarah filled up the bathtub, she told Ketura to remove her clothes and get in. She and her sisters promised not to look.

Ketura felt exposed and unprotected as she stepped into the tub, making sure that only her head was above the waterline. "Okay, I'm in," she said.

Dinah took out a pink bottle, opened it, and poured the contents into the bathtub. "I knew you'd be self-conscious about your naked body," she said. "This stuff is soap, and it will spread itself through all the water and wash your body. No scrubbing required!" The liquid was bubble-gum pink, it smelled like bubble gum, and it did indeed turn the water pink.

Telma filled up a separate tub, a smaller one, and placed it in the water; it floated. She put it behind Ketura's head and dunked her head into it. She then took some shampoo and lathered it through Ketura's hair before rinsing it out by dumping the bucket on Ketura' head.

Ketura stayed in the tub for about ten minutes, then she was allowed to get out, take a towel, dry off, and put on the red bathrobe Telma provided her with.

"Sit in the chair," ordered Telma as she brought it out to the middle of the room. Ketura did so.

The next thing the sisters did was take strips of cloth and roll Ketura's hair up in them as a method of curling her hair. As a combined effort, it took thirty minutes to do.

"There's not much to do until then," said Leah, "except for pierce those ears."

"Please, no!" protested Ketura as Sarah brought the jewelry box. Inside was a plain sewing needle and a pair of dangling diamond earrings.

"Sarah, what earrings are those?" asked Telma.

"The only ones we have," said Sarah.

"Our family heirlooms?" questioned Leah. "That belonged to Nabooru herself?"

"The very ones she won in a duel against her sister," responded Sarah.

"If you value them so much, then I won't wear them," Ketura said, staring at the sewing needle uneasily.

"Ketura, it's just a little needle. I'm going to put a slice of apple behind your earlobe and stab with the needle. Quick and easy. No fuss." Sarah tried to sound reassuring, but it didn't work. She took her apple slice and put it behind Ketura's right ear.

"No, please, no. No! _NOO!" _Ketura jerked her head away right before the needle made contact with her earlobe.

The door opened.

"Is everything okay in here?" Ganondorf asked.

"I'm just trying to pierce her ears, that's all." Sarah said.

"Please, Ganondorf, don't let them do it!" pleaded Ketura.

"Sorry. You're in their hands." Ganondorf left.

"Ketura, just don't look at the needle," said Leah, taking a cucumber out of her pocket, used a knife to slice up two pieces, and put a slice over each of Ketura's eyes.

Ketura took a deep breath, then felt a sting in her right earlobe. It didn't hurt that bad; nothing compared to pain she had felt previously. She then felt an earring inserted into the newly formed hole.

The process was repeated on her left ear. The cucumbers were removed from her eyes, and Ketura looked at herself in the mirror. The diamond earrings looked pretty good.

"Now, we wait for your hair to dry."

--

A few hours later, during which her face was washed, Ketura's hair was dry enough to let down. The result was spiral curls that framed her face. Telma arranged it so the top of her ears were hidden, yet the earrings could be seen. She then took a spray bottle and sprayed hairspray all over Ketura's hair.

"Now, you just need to put on your dress." Telma said. "Leah, what time is it?"

"The ball's at eight, and it's seven-thirty,"

"You three, go get ready to go. Get everyone else prepared." Telma and her sisters left the room to rouse everyone up.

During this time, Ketura removed the bathrobe and put on the dress. She had a hard time getting the shoes on, and once on, she practiced walking around in them without tripping or falling over. A glance in the mirror showed a completely different Ketura than the one that had left her home in Kakariko Village. The old Ketura was rough and unrefined, the new Ketura was . . . gorgeous. Her new beauty was artificial.

She noticed the knife that was left on the vanity, the one Leah used to cut the cucumber. She took it and a black ribbon and tied the knife to her left calf.

The door opened.

"Wow," said Ganondorf. "What did they do to you?"

"They tortured me, that's what they did," said Ketura as she walked to the bed and folded up her regular clothes. "Take these, I don't want to kill anyone in this dress," she said, handing her clothes over. "Especially these darn shoes." Ketura noticed the shawl that had come with the dress still in the garment bag; she put it on.

"This is it," said Ganondorf. "I finally get to do something good for the world. We all had a talk during the time you were being . . . tortured, and we estimate that about half of us will die tonight, what with Zant and all the guards there."

"Let's not be part of that half," decided Ketura. It then hit her: she could die in the following period of time. A knot formed in her chest and stomach.

"You look scared," observed Ganondorf. "Don't be. If anyone picks on you, they'll have me to deal with." He reached out towards Ketura, grabbed her around the shoulders, and pulled her into an embrace. "Remember, I -"

"Yes, I know." Ketura interrupted him; she couldn't decide which was worse, hearing those three words or getting her ears pierced. "My feelings are mutual."

"Thank you for being my friend," said Ganondorf, finally letting her go. "Good luck."

"Good luck to you too."

As she walked to the door to leave the bar, she turned and saw the other conspirators climb a shelf to what looked like the entrance to the attic. Ganondorf was the last one through.

"Hey, my dad's bringing the Master Sword, right?" she asked him before he disappeared.

"Yes, he is."

"Good."

"Go, get out of here." Ganondorf told her. "Go party. We'll reveal our location when we can."

Ketura took one last look at Ganondorf, then left the bar and went to the castle.


	22. Twenty One

**TWENTY-ONE**

"This isn't the sewers," said Dinah as the conspirators landed in a house with a large pile of gold, a throne on top of it all, and an opened treasure chest.

"This is Jovani's house," said Midna. "He used to be this guy who was turned into a gold statue. I guess he's at the ball."

"The treasure chest is how you get into the sewers," said Link, giving Midna the look that said "Transform me."

Midna took the crystal and jabbed it into Link's head. He transformed into a wolf, Midna landed on his back, and they both jumped into the chest. Sheik followed, then Doeg, then the Sheikah men, then Ganondorf, then Sarah, then Leah, then finally Dinah (Telma didn't have the taste for adventure her siblings had, so she stayed at the bar to worry about them).

Everyone dropped into a flowing river of sewer water and they all were taken down the slope into the sewers of Hyrule Castle. They came up in a dry area infested with rats and small spiders.

"Eew, rats!" squealed Sarah.

"Get over it," said Doeg.

Wolf Link found the doorway they needed to pass through, so he led his comrades through to the next room. There was a similar doorway, but it was covered by a spider web.

"If there's a big spider web," said Sheik, "that must mean that there's a big spider. But where?"

A Skulltula emerged from the shadows; it was big but not as big as the ones in Faron Woods. Ganondorf made short work of it, then used Ketura's sword to slash through the spider web.

"Oh great, a dead end," said Doeg.

"Not exactly," said Midna, for Link was digging at a soft patch of dirt. A hole opened, and the two dropped through. Everyone else followed.

Once at their new location, Link motioned for Midna to remove the crystal so he could be human again. It was the dungeons of Hyrule Castle.

"Here I am . . . again." said Link. He walked on, the others following him. He confidently walked through, not noticing the inmates or anyone for that matter, until a guard ran into him.

"Hey! Who are you?" asked the guard.

"That's none of your business," said Link as he whipped out the Master Sword and slashed the guard with it; the guard died almost instantly.

"Link!" called a prisoner. Link was right in front of this prisoner's cell.

"Hello, Mike! I see you're still alive," Link greeted the prisoner.

"Yes, I keep thinking that I'll get out one day like you did," said Mike. "Are you all that conspiracy group the guards keep talking about?"

"Yup, that's us," said Link. "We've got to keep going. There's royal blood waiting to be spilled."

The group continued on, killing guards that came their way, until they reached the actual castle. "Here we are," said Link.

--

Hyrule Castle had been destroyed fifteen years previously, thanks to Ganondorf, and construction of the new castle took place in only three months. It wasn't nearly as big as the previous castle. The first floor was a big foyer area with two levels, the higher one accessible with stairs. In the middle of the foyer stood a statue dedicated to the Hero of Time. The foyer was currently crowded with well-dressed people. A band that consisted of mostly stringed instruments sat off to the side, warming up. Nobody was on the second floor, so the conspirators went to hide up there. The immediate second floor was just walkways around the building, but doors led to other places.

"I don't see her anywhere," said Ganondorf as he scanned the crowd to find Ketura.

"Maybe she's not here yet," said Midna.

"We just have to wait for her to get Zelda and we'll get her attention somehow." Sheik said. "Or she'll look for us."

"You're making this up as you go along, aren't you?" asked Doeg.

"Obviously," said Sheik. "We just have to wait."


	23. Twenty Two

**TWENTY-TWO**

Ketura entered the foyer of Hyrule Castle and walked around, looking for Zelda. But she wasn't out there. Who in the world wouldn't attend their own ball?

_Maybe she'll just make a grand entrance later on,_ she thought.

She looked around at all the people. They were all happy, having a good time. None of them had to kill anyone tonight. None of them were faced with the death of a comrade or a friend . . . .

She saw a long table set up with all sorts of snack foods and a big bowl of punch. A well-dressed man stood guard at the table, making sure anyone who took something to eat didn't take too much. She was too hungry to care how much food she got, so she walked over to the table and took three cracker the size of playing cards, slathered some cream on them, and reached for the ladle in the bowl of punch. Another hand reached for it, and the two hands collided.

"Sorry," she said, and saw that she had touched Nathan.

"Hey, Ketura," said Nathan. "Wow, you look . . . stunning." He had an admiring look in his brown eyes.

"Thanks," said Ketura. "These shoes are horrible, though."

"Then take them off," suggested Nathan.

Ketura walked away from the snack table to a pillar that supported the walkways over the foyer, and kicked off her shoes, leaving them at the base of the pillar. "Much better," she said before taking a bite of cracker. "Nathan, do you know where the Princess is?"

"No, I don't. She's probably with her husband," said Nathan. "Oh, and now that she's married, she's the queen."

"Whatever, I don't care," said Ketura between bites. "Are you here with anyone?"

"No, I'm alone. What about you?"

"I'm alone too," she said, not enjoying putting the words "I'm alone" in a sentence together. She said no more until her crackers and punch were consumed. The band played its tuning note, meaning that it was about to start playing and everyone would start dancing.

"Would you like to dance?" asked Nathan.

"Um, okay. I'll give it a shot." Ketura set her punch glass down and walked with Nathan to the dance floor.

The band began a lively waltz. Ketura and Nathan took hands, Nathan placed his free hand on Ketura's lower back, and Ketura did the same with his shoulder. Nathan led, steering him and her in circles, ignoring Ketura's feet when they stepped on his. He even stopped because she wasn't moving in time with the music; he showed her how to, and they continued.

"This is dumb," Ketura remarked as the waltz continued. "We're just spinning around in circles."

"It's an excellent time to talk, though," said Nathan. "Talk to me about something."

"Um . . . I hate needles. It was a frightening experience, getting my ears pierced."

"Well, then, I hate snakes. The way they move, and how they bite . . . ugh."

Ketura giggled.

"You have such a lovely smile," noted Nathan.

"Thank you." Ketura said, shrugging off the compliment. Nathan smiled at her. "Your smile is quite handsome."

"Thanks," said Nathan.

The waltz continued, and the two kept dancing, Ketura looking around nervously for Zelda, but still not seeing her anywhere. Eventually, the band stopped abruptly, and Zant was standing at the base of the statue of the Hero of Time.

"Attention, everyone," he addressed the crowd (Ketura ducked down so she couldn't be seen, "Her Majesty the Queen is not feeling well and will not be attending this ball. She is currently in her bedroom on the fourth floor of the castle, heavily guarded, so although you may want to visit her and wish her well, I advise that you don't. Thank you for your attention, and continue your dancing."

The band resumed its waltz. As Ketura and Nathan began to dance again, she noticed up on the second floor, some people were moving sneakily, low to the ground. It must have been the conspirators going to Zelda to kill her in her sickbed.

"Is all they are going to play waltz?" asked Nathan, for he was tiring of the waltz. "Let's go outside, Ketura." He led her to the second level of the foyer to a back door. Two paintings hung from either side of the door. One was of Princess Zelda when she was younger, surrounded by six men of varied sizes: three big, three small, and they all stood around the sitting princess. The other was of the Triforce.

Outside the door was a pond with lilies floating on it, and stepping stones going across the pond to some gardens on the other side.

"The Queen loves her gardens," Nathan said. "The wedding was held out here - not that you care or anything." He was going to help Ketura across the stepping stones, but she took off on her own and waited for him to come. "You must be quite independent."

"Yeah, I am," said Ketura. "My mom died when I was thirteen, so I raised myself for the past year or so."

"Sorry to hear that," said Nathan. "My mother's still alive, and she's a nagger. I never met my father. He ran away upon hearing my mother was pregnant."

"My dad didn't leave until he was arrested on some dumb charge," said Ketura. "He's spent my whole life in jail and was recently released. But he doesn't care about me." She paused. "Like I need him to. I can take care of myself."

"Ketura, don't try to be strong. If you've got to lean on someone, do so." Nathan advised her.

"I would if there were people available," lied Ketura; for once, she felt bad about lying. Nathan cared quite a deal about her - the exact reason why, she wasn't so sure.

"I'm available," offered Nathan, wrapping his arms around Ketura. She rejected the motion and pushed away.

"Please, don't," she said.

"I'm sorry, Ketura, I forgot that you don't want a romantic relationship quite yet," apologized Nathan, his hands still holding Ketura's arms below the shoulders.

"Yet?" she asked incredulously.

"Ketura, you have to face it. Even though we've only known each other for a short time, I luh-"

Some screams came from the inside. "I'll be right back," said Ketura as she took off and went back into the castle; Nathan followed.

People were quickly leaving the castle, scared. Ganondorf was chasing them out, saying things like "I have killed your Queen, and now, I shall rule Hyrule!"

_What is he doing?_ thought Ketura as she watched his stunt. She ran his way and was almost to him when Nathan caught up to her.

"Ketura, what's going on?"

She took a deep breath. "Nathan, I'm very truly, deeply sorry, but I've been lying to you. My name isn't Ketura Sumers, it's Ketura Lykos. I'm part of the conspiracy that is here to kill the Queen."

"So?" said Nathan; he didn't seem to mind. "None of that changes the wonderful person that you are."

"Once we're done, I'm leaving Hyrule and planning to never come back," she continued.

"Will I ever see you again?" asked Nathan, even though deep down inside he already knew the answer.

"I don't know. I might die. Now go home. Go."

Before Nathan left, he took Ketura's face into his hands and kissed her gently on her lips. "Goodbye," he said before leaving. Ketura located a staircase to climb and find the other conspirators, but before going, she took another look at Nathan as he left. He looked back to her and smiled. She smiled back, then turned away.

Ganondorf had done his job of chasing everyone out of the palace, and now he caught up with Ketura as she headed to a staircase. "Nice job chasing everyone out," she said. "Did you get her?"

"Not yet. Those two set up a trap. They knew we were here," said Ganondorf, handing Ketura her clothes. "And who was that boy?"

"Nobody," said Ketura.

"Ketura, you just don't let anyone who's 'nobody' kiss you like that before they run for their lives!" For the most part, Ketura was a good liar, but Ganondorf could always tell when she was fibbing.

"Why did you do that?" asked Ketura.

"It was an attempt to draw the fight down here so you wouldn't have to come find us, but it didn't work.

They ascended the stairs. Ketura ducked into a corner and changed clothes quickly, Ganondorf's back turned to her. She removed the diamond earrings, but kept her necklace on. She left her dress, shawl, and earrings there, and rejoined Ganondorf to go to the next staircase that was through a door. However, a group of guards was heading their way, with the other conspirators detained. Zelda, her husband (who looked like he was old enough to be her father) and Zant were behind them.

"Oh great," said Ganondorf. "Go back down."

Instead of using the stairs, Ketura ran to the rail and jumped down to the first floor. She landed on her feet and was fine, even though the shock of impact hurt a littlle. Ganondorf jumped down next. "Got a plan?" he asked her.

"No, I'm leaving that to you," she said. "I'm going to act on impulse, as usual."

Soon, everyone else was down on the first floor. The soldiers had each person by the arms, and they circled Ketura and Ganondorf. Zelda and Zant entered the middle of the circle; the King remained on the outside.

"Well, Ganondorf, we meet again," said Zelda malevolently.


	24. Twenty Three

**TWENTY-THREE**

"It astounded me at first that you were alive, but when I learned of your little friend with the ability to raise the dead," Zelda turned her attention to Ketura. "I didn't know you were capable of such things, Ketura."

"All I did was pray," said Ketura coolly.

"Why in the world would you want a man like _him_ resurrected?" asked Zelda. "Have you not heard of the horrible things he had done in the past?"

"I heard, but I unintentionally dug him up."

"And you recited the prayer for the dead whos graves are disturbed," inquired Zelda.

"No. I made one up on the spot, and I guess the gods thought it meant raise him from the dead so he could redeem himself before he can die again," said Ketura.

"Ketura Yelene Lykos," said Zelda, "I hereby place you under arrest for practicing religious practices unacceptable to the state, being the accomplice of one of the most notorious men in Hyrule's history, evading the authorities, and plotting to kill me. Do you deny that you did any of those things?"

"No, I raised a man from the dead, ran around Hyrule with him, and am part of a plot to kill one of the most despotic rulers Hyrule has ever seen."

"So you confess your crimes?" asked Zelda.

"Um, yeah, I do." The look Ganondorf gave her clearly read _What are you saying?_

"Then you are guilty. You sentence is death, to be carried out immediately. Zant!" She walked over to Ganondorf. "Make one move, and you're next," she said menacingly to him, reading the worried expression on his face.

Zant came forward, producing a curved blade from each sleeve. "Now, to finish what I started at Death Mountain . . . ." He took a swing in an attempt to decapitate Ketura, but she ducked and watched Zant spin in a circle.

"Little rat," he hissed. He continued to swipe at Ketura, who dodged his every move.

She then remembered the knife tied to her leg. While still jumping around trying to dodge Zant, she untied the knife, and was going to use it on Zant, but his weapons were bigger and more plentiful. She saw Zelda, ran to her, and thrust the knife into Zelda's shoulder.

"You missed!" jeered Zelda, looking at the knife in her shoulder.

Ketura backed away, only to feel pain in her back. Zant had slashed her there. She turned around and kicked him in the stomach. He recoiled; Ketura got as far away as she could from him within the confines of the circle.

Midna suddenly warped free from he captor's grasped, floated over to Zelda, and backhanded her across the face. "You lied to me," she spat. "You lied to all of Hyrule!"

Link was the next one to break free. He drew the Master Sword and went after Zant. The two engaged in a duel. Link waited for Zant to stop performing consecutive spin attacks so he could try and attack, but Zant blocked his every move. While watching the duel, Zelda pulled the knife from her shoulder, winced at the blood and pain, and ordered her soldiers:

"Kill your captives!"

Each soldier who had a hold of a conspirator drew their swords, and the conspirators took advantage of this to break free. They engaged into duels with the soldiers who held them captive.

Ganondorf then punched Zelda with all of his might, knocking her to the floor. He then noticed Ketura off to the side, squatting, bent double over herself. On instinct, he rushed to her side.

"I'm fine," she said. "I just need to breathe. It's nothing."

"Please, Ketura, a slash this big is not nothing," said Ganondorf. "You need to learn when something's a big deal. And this is a big deal."

Ketura simply sat down and watched the duels, wishing she could get in on some of the action. She panicked when she moved to stab Zelda; that was why she missed the queen's heart and got her in the shoulder instead.

She saw Zant abandon his swords and rely on his magic. He raised his hand and issued a ball of dark energy and hurled it at Link. Link was hit in the face; he dropped the Master Sword and fell over to the ground, unconscious. Midna zoomed to his side, felt his face, and warped him away somewhere. Mechanically, Ketura got up, ran to where her father lay, and picked up the Master Sword to continue the duel with Zant.

"You don't give up, do you?" said Zant, picking his swords back up. He was able to nick Ketura's wrist next.

"Not until I die," said Ketura. She continued to deflect Zant's attacks, but then he did something unexpected: slashe her right across the face, at a bit of a diagonal. Ketura flinched a little, then continued, waiting for Zant to let his guard down. Finally, when he did, Ketura ran him through.

Zant fell to the floor. Ketura moved to remove the Master Sword, but Ganondorf called to her. "Ketura, leave the sword in!"

"Great," murmured Zant weakly, watching himself being submerged into a pool of black blood. "I was trumped by some kid . . . ." He stopped talking.

Ketura knelt down and removed the helmet form Zant's head. The shape of his head was not alarming, but the color of his skin was a very pale turquoise. His glowing orange eyes were open, but they didn't appear to see anything. His mouth was open, showing many pointed teeth.

It then hit her: she had killed Zant. She looked over to his hand, and a golden triangle was floating above it. She picked it up, but didn't allow it to enter her body. _This must be the Triforce of Power,_ she said to herself.

What Ganondorf said on their first night together entered her head: _In order to truly have power, you also need wisdom and courage._ It was a given that Ketura was courageous, but was she wise enough to handle the burden of the Triforce of Power?

"Are you okay?" Ganondorf showed up and looked at the slash across her face.

"Look, it's the Triforce of Power," said Ketura. "What do I do with it?"

"It's yours. You won it in a battle."

Ketura let the Triforce of Power enter her like the Triforce of Courage had.

"Ketura!" Sheik was coming her way, stumbling, yet she was holding the wrapped up Master Sol in her hands. "Ketura, take it. It's the Master Sol. I need you to go to the top of the Tower and get to the void between the worlds so the Master Sol can be returned."

"But I don't know how," protested Ketura.

"Look at Zant's belt there," Sheik pointed. Ketura looked that way, and there was a white conductor's baton attached to it. The handle was shaped like the hilt of a sword, with the cross-guard like parts above the handle curled up. She removed it and looked it over. "That's called the Waker," continued Sheik. "Midna told us all about it. To get to the Twilight Realm, you conduct down, up, center. To get to the void, conduct center, up, down."

Ketura stuck the Waker in her pocket and took the Master Sol from Sheik. She then headed for the door, but stopped.

"Aren't you coming?" she asked Ganondorf. However, he was being attacked by soldiers who were commanded by Zelda to attack him.

"Ketura, go! I'll hold them off." Ganondorf responded. Ketura slowly walked backwards, but when she caught Zelda's attention, she broke into a run.

--

The other conspirators had for the most part gotten away after Zelda called her soldiers to attack Ganondorf. Dinah, Leah, Asher, and Gad had been killed, and Sheik suffered a wound to her hip. She, Doeg, Judah, and Sarah each took a body and ran out of the castle and out of town upon Ganondorf's command, buried the bodies in the Kakariko graveyard, and left Hyrule.

Ganondorf was left with the responsibility of fighting four soldiers on his own, which he did quite well. He was able to deal out hard punches to the face and swift kicks to the gut, and soon, all four soldiers were down; alive, but in pain, unable to fight.

"Wonderful. Even without the Triforce of Power, you still have that brute strength," said Zelda as she walked over to Ganondorf; he noticed that she had pulled the Master Sword from Zant's body and was carrying it with her. "However, you must still be weak to _this_ -" she ran the rest of the distance and plunged the blade into his collarbone.

Ganondorf doubled over as Zelda pulled the sword out of him; blood ran down his body. He fell to his knees and remained hunched over, his hand on his wound.

"Look at you, Ganondorf. You were once the most powerful man to ever live. Now, you are wounded, weak, pathetic. Do you not have any pride left, to sink so low as to rely on a teenager for companionship?"

He didn't respond to any of Zelda's insults, but he looked up when she mentioned Ketura.

"Oh, how sweet," sneered Zelda. "Do you actually feel something for her, Ganondorf? You, the King of Evil, are capable of love after all!" She kicked him in the stomach. "Fool. You just now sent her to her death. She'll never make it to the top of the Tower alive. And just in case she does, I'll be following her with this -" she waved the Master Sword "- and I will kill her."

"No," breathed Ganondorf. "Don't, please."

"You must have no pride, if you are begging for the life of someone such as Ketura Lykos. She is nothing but a wretched urchin who wasn't even accepted by the other urchins. She could have avoided all of this by staying home and starving to death instead of digging in the field for her money -"

Ganondorf had heard enough. He rose and thrust his elbow into Zelda's chest. She flew backwards about six feet and landed on her back.

"Touched a nerve, did I?" she jeered, laboring to get up. "I assume you'll give chase now." She bolted out the door; Ganondorf followed.

Zelda led him around the castle to the entrance of the colossal tower. She went inside, and a stone door big enough for the large entrance shut behind her. Ganondorf pounded on it with all of his might, but it did not open. He had no other option but to walk away and leave the castle grounds.

"I'm sorry, Ketura," he whispered, a tear streaming down his cheek.


	25. Twenty Four

**TWENTY-FOUR**

Midna took Link to the first place she thought of: his house in Kakariko. She warped him onto Ketura's bed, closed the curtains over the windows, and made sure the door was locked, noticing a large knife on the kitchen counter. She was on her way back up, but then the most amazing thing happened.

Light flooded her eyes. Her body felt like it was growing, elongating. After she could see again, she rushed to the nearest mirror, noticing she was walking, and saw that she was in her true form once more. _Someone back at the castle must have killed Zant_, she thought happily.

She floated up to Link's side and sat down on the bed next to him. He wasn't dead, just unconscious, and maybe she could help him come around. She placed a turquoise hand on the side of his face, letting the healing magic flow into him. Soon, his eyes opened, and his hand reached up to touch her face.

"Am I dreaming?" asked Link weakly. Midna took the hand that was on her face.

"No. Someone killed Zant, and I am restored." said Midna happily. "Now, we can be together for the rest of our lives."

"I don't know . . . how much longer I have," objected Link, stopping in the middle of the sentence for a breath. "Zant hit pretty hard,"

"Link, please, don't die," said Midna. "I can't do anything against magic conjured from the Triforce of Power. Link, stay with me. I can't live without you!" She bent down over him to give him a kiss on his mouth. "I love you. I'm here."

"Midna, I love you . . . ." breathed Link, his voice trailing off as he spoke. His eyes closed, and he slept.

"Link, no! Please, don't be dead!" cried Midna, still holding Link's cold hand. Tears began to pour down her beautiful face. But she had to accept it; Link had died.

Midna then remembered the kitchen knife she had seen on the kitchen counter. She descended, retrieved the knife, and went back up. She laid on the bed next to Link, took one last deep breath, and plunged the knife into her stomach.

And so Midna, the Twilight Princess, died in that way, holding her lover in her arms, who she believed to be dead.


	26. Twenty Five

_Note: the Tower of the Gods described in this chapter has been condensed some, so although the layout is not the same as it is in the Wind Waker, I intend that it is the same Tower of the Gods that serves as a partially painful dungeon in the Wind Waker._

**TWENTY-FIVE**

Ketura ran around Hyrule Castle, looking for the entrance to the Tower. She found it at the back of the castle and ran inside.

The first room was full of pillars and walls, and a golden head was painted on the wall in the middle. Its mouth served as a door. A plaque was hung over the door and it read:

Beware, all ye who enter the Tower of the Gods.  
Only those who show great wisdom and courage  
shall overcome the challenges ahead.

_No problem,_ Ketura thought after reading it, and she walked through the door.

The next room was circular, and a column about five feet high stood in the center. A red dot orbited around the top of it. She walked closer to it, and when she was two feet away, the dot became the eye of a bright red orb, and the eye shot a beam at her. She dove out of the way, yet the beam followed her, getting her in the back of her left leg.

Ketura got up and ran out of range of the beam statue to another wall that didn't connect with the ceiling; she deduced that it was a ledge, and she needed to get up it somehow. She then noticed a round, glowing patch of floor before her. She stepped on it, and platforms began to rise up and down to the ledge and back. She jumped onto the nearest platform and let it lift her to the ledge, where she hopped off.

She now came upon a chasm about fifty feet long, with a door on the other side of it. A platform moved back and forth across the chasm, and she simply waited for it to come her way before hopping on and going to the other side.

The next room Ketura entered was a hub, with three other doors leading to three other places. Each of them were locked, with iron bars over them. A dais six feet high sat in the middle of the room, with stairs leading to its top. She moved to go up the stairs, but she heard something drop, and the clanking of metal behind her. She turned around, and saw a man-like creature in a suit of white armor. Horns protruded from its helmet, and it carried a jagged sword and a round shield.

Ketura sat the Master Sol down on the top of the stairs and ran down to meet the Darknut, but then realized she had no weapon.

The Darknut swung its giant sword at her, and all she could do was dive out of the way to avoid being sliced down the middle. She then ran around it, and saw a weak spot in its armor: a red cord that held its armor in place.

_How can I cut that cord without string?_ She had no time to stand and think, for the Darknut wheeled around and tried to hit Ketura with its sword again. She jumped out of the way, her arm flailing on its own as she jumped, and whether it was a trick of the Twilight or not, she saw a small orb of dark energy spurt from her hand and hit the Darknut without hurting it.

A little stunned at first, Ketura tried to shoot another orb, and it worked. _I must have gained this with the Triforce of Power,_ she deduced. _But can't I do more?_

Ketura then dashed to the backside of the Darknut again and pulled the red cord that held its armor together; the armor fell off, revealing a dark gray body. Upon realizing that its armor had been knocked off, the Darknut jumped back and charged. As it approached, Ketura tried something new: she jumped up, got her foot underneath its helmet, and kicked it off. The Darknut's head looked like that of a deformed cat, with dull red eyes.

Now that the Darknut was no longer protected by its armor, Ketura experimented with the kind of magical attacks she could launch at it. She was able to completely surround her fist with a dark aura and punch the Darknut in the back, knocking it over. It got up and continued to swing its sword at her, but she caught the sword by the blade and yanked it out of its wielder's hands before tossing it over to the side. One final sphere of dark energy finished the Darknut off, making it at least unconscious, although she couldn't tell if it was dead.

"Wow, that's cool," said Ketura as she looked at the Triforce crest on the back of her hand. She ascended the stairs, picked up the Master Sol, and stood in the middle of the dais. She looked up, and there was a hole in the ceiling that would take her farther up if she knew how to get up there.

"Can I get up using this weird sorcery stuff?" wondered Ketura, producing a dee purple string out of her hand. She lashed it around like a whip until it was about thirty feet long, then lashed it vertically, hoping it would stick to something and help her get up. Indeed, the string hung onto the edge of the hole at the top, and Ketura jumped up. She was able to walk on the wall all the way up, the string growing shorter and shorter as she ascended.

Ketura came up into another circular room, with more beam statues and clay statues. She circled around the room and found a door. She went to go through the door, but as she approached it, iron bars slammed over it.

She heard something go "Ump!" and she turned to see the clay statues come to life, and they were hopping her way. She put down the Master Sol, ran towards them in return, running right past the beam of the statue that she ran by, and swiftly punched the first one she ran into with her fist of darkness (that was what she named the attack where her fist was enveloped in the dark aura) and it froze. She tried to do so with the other one, but it hopped into her. She stumbled back six inches, and noticed the spikes at the base of each statue. She then looked at her own feet and saw puncture wounds just below her ankles.

The statue that had been temporarily frozen reawoke and began hopping her way again. Ketura concluded that the eye in the middle was not its weak spot. She circled around and saw that each statue had a glowing orb on its back. She broke the orbs with a sphere of energy, then ran away as the statues started to spin out of control. Finally, they both exploded.

The iron bars lifted from the door, and Ketura picked up the Master Sol and went through. She emerged outside and saw a staircase that snaked around the side of the tower. Beam statues with blue eyes sat on the railing of the staircase. As she approached the first beam statue, it shot straight out, so Ketura crawled beneath it. She repeated this process with the following blue beam statues until she reached the landing of the staircase. She dodged past two red beam statues and came to a big door. She opened it and went in.

Nothing was in this room. It was circular and dark, with the carving of a large head engraved on the wall. On either side of the head were two open hands, also carved into the wall.

"Whooo aaaare yooooooouuu?" spoke a deep, ominous voice. She noticed the mouth of the head was speaking.

"I am Ketura Lykos," spoke Ketura, not the least bit afraid.

"Whyyyy aaaare yoooouu heeeeeeerrrrrre?" asked the voice.

"I wish to reach the top of the tower and restore the Master Sol to its rightful place." Ketura said firmly.

"Only those who show great power, wisdom, and courage can go to the top of the Tower of the Gods!" the voice didn't draw out each word as it spoke. "And if you are here, then you must have done so. Enter the light and ascend, Ketura Lykos." A light appeared in the center of the room. Ketura stepped into the light and felt herself rising up, up, up, up.

--

She was here, on top of the Tower. It felt strangely calm and peaceful, with the black clouds of Twilight above her and the wind blowing from the north.

She took the Waker from her pocket, and conducted as Sheik told her to: center, up, down. Before her, a door materialized that showed a vast, empty, space on the other side that resembled the night sky. She stepped through the door and felt herself rising again.

Ketura was rising up to a spot in the void, a black spot that looked like a place for the Master Sol to go. When she reached it, she unwrapped the Master Sol, which didn't seem as bright in this void, and placed it in the spot. Immediately, she began to sink back to the world of Light, where it was nighttime, maybe very early morning.

_I did it,_ she thought proudly. She went to the spot where she had risen up from, and was about to jump, but Zelda was on her way up, the Master Sword in her hand.


	27. Twenty Six

**TWENTY-SIX**

"I thought I'd find you here," said Zelda as she made it to the top to face Ketura. "You've restored the Master Sol, and now the Twilight is gone. Are you proud of yourself?"

"I'm very proud of myself," said Ketura. "Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to go home now."

"I don't think so," chuckled Zelda. "You still have the death penalty, remember?"

"You wouldn't give the death penalty to a fifteen-year-old, would you? I'm so young," sassed Ketura.

"I don't appreciate your attitude," rebuked Zelda. She began to circle around Ketura. "But, before I kill you, I want to talk about Ganondorf."

"Is he dead?" asked Ketura defensively.

"No, not yet. He's next," said Zelda. "But you do know what he has done in the past, don't you?"

"Yes, I do."

"Then why are you so close to him?"

"Have you ever heard of second chances, Your Majesty?" Ketura said the last two words with contempt.

"A man like him does not deserve second chances!" declared Zelda. "He and you both deserve to die!"

"As far as you're concerned, anyone who's not pure Hylian like yourself deserves to die," said Ketura.

"Why, you little-" Zelda slapped Ketura across the face; she dropped the Waker on the ground. "Are you going to be disrespectful to your queen before your death?"

"Well, since I'm obviously not going to kill you, I've got to make up for it somehow," replied Ketura.

"Then you will answer to Nayru, and she will condemn you to the darkest pits of hell."

"Are you so sure that's what she will do? How can you know what a god will do?" Ketura kept up the smart-alec talking so she could get Zelda to become thoroughly incensed. The talk was boring her, and she wanted to fight, but she wanted Zelda to make the first move.

"I am the Queen." Zelda stated, trying to supress the anger in her voice. "I know everything!" She then swung the Master Sword at Ketura, who dodged and formed her own sword using the Triforce of Power's magic.

"You do have powers! You lied to me!" shouted Zelda.

"It's the Triforce of Power," said Ketura, showing the Queen the crest on her hand. "I like it a lot."

"Well, you do know that the only blade that can kill you is this one, don't you?" said Zelda, brandishing the Master Sword. "Don't you ever think about things before doing them?"

Zelda then swung at Ketura again, who blocked the move. She continued to block everything thrown at her, until Zelda found a hole in her defenses and slashed her in the arm. A few minutes later, she stabbed Ketura in the shoulder. "Now, we're even!" she proclaimed.

The duel continued; Ketura slashed Zelda across her collarbone, Zelda slashed Ketura's thigh, Ketura cut Zelda across the face, and finally, Zelda stabbed Ketura just below her chest.

"There," said Zelda as she pulled the Master Sword out of her enemy.

Ketura slowly stood up and coughed up blood onto the ground. She eliminated her sword and backed away from Zelda, bumping into the parapet of the Tower. She turned around and saw the miniature Castle Town below her. She felt all of the stinging pain caused by the Master Sword, and it was ten times worse than anything she had ever felt before.

She then realized there were two choices: let Zelda kill her, or drop to her death. Either way, she would die tonight.

"I have you now, Ketura. Ganondorf isn't here to save you this time," said Zelda, approaching with the Master Sword bared.

"I don't want you to have the satisfaction of killing me." Ketura said plainly as she hopped onto the parapet, leaned over the edge, and fell. The strong wind carried her over the castle into the middle of Castle Town. Suddenly, the wind ceased, and she fell onto the cobblestone street in front of the castle. Upon impact, Ketura's world went black.


	28. Twenty Seven

**TWENTY-SEVEN**

Even though the Twilight went away and was replaced by the beautifully starry night sky, Ganondorf felt like everything had failed. Four members of the conspiracy had been killed, the other four fled, Link's condition was unknown, and Zelda was still alive. Worst of all, Ketura was going to die, or may already be dead for all he knew.

_I should have gone with her through the tower,_ he thought sadly as he sat at the fountain, waiting for a soldier to come arrest him. The stab wound in his collarbone still stung, but it was nothing compared to the pain he was feeling in his heart.

_I try to do something good for once, and I end up sending someone I love to her death. It's all my fault._

_I can't do anything right!_

He rested his head in his hands, breathing in and out deeply. If he was faced with life and death fifteen years ago, he would have done anything to stay alive. Now, he would gladly welcome death with open arms.

After a while, he heard a crash. He looked towards the source of the sound, and he saw a person more or less completely covered in blood lying in a crater that was created when they landed on the ground. Seeing the person's bright red hair was like a swift, hard blow in his already bleeding collarbone.

Ganondorf immediately sprang up and ran to Ketura's broken body. She was lying on her left side, her left arm pinned down by her body. Her left foot was entrenched maybe a foot into the ground.

"Ketura . . . ." was all he could manage to say as he scooped up her body. The entire left side of Ketura's face was covered in blood and dust. Most of the blood was coming from an open spot at the top left side of her forehead that had hit the ground. There was a mass of blood at the spot alone.

He looked up at the tower, and he could see a figure standing at the edge, looking down at him.

"Curse . . . you . . . Zelda!" his voice shook with rage as he uttered the words.

--

The best thing to do seemed to be to leave Castle Town, try to see if Ketura was dead (or try to heal her if she wasn't) and bury her before giving himself up. Ganondorf chose the watch tower of the Bridge of Eldin where the two had spent their first night together. Since all the soldiers in the city had been called to Hyrule Castle, he could easily go to the western gate and go across the field, ignoring the few terrified townspeople still out at this late hour.

Once in the tower, he sat down with Ketura's body in his lap and wiped some of the blood off of her face. She stirred in reaction to the gesture, and began to fight to open up her eyes.

"Ketura," whispered Ganondorf as he took her face between his hands. "if you say that you're fine, I swear I'll . . ."

She was able to halfway open her right eye; her left eye was still submerged in blood. "But I _am_ fine," she managed to sputter. "I'm with you."

The statement brought a smile to Ganondorf's face as he wiped the blood away from her left eye.

"Ganondorf," she continued, "thanks . . . for everything. I'm glad that you were my friend." He was a tad worried by her speaking in the past tense, but no matter the tense, the words were good to hear.

Ketura then shut her eye again and didn't open them or her mouth again. Ganondorf looked at her dormant face . . . this face, once so beautiful, now marred by a slash across it that was sure to scar. The blood produced by it had veiled the lower half as it cut across the bridge of her nose.

"I'm . . . glad that I had you as well," he choked the words out, saying them, even though she couldn't hear them. "Since you're unconsious, perhaps dead, and can't interrupt me when I try, I'm going to say that I love you, Ketura." No response.

Ganondorf lifted Ketura's head up to his mouth, and he lightly kissed her on the forehead, just below the bleeding spot. He slowly lowered her head and noticed her hand that was thrown casually across her body, seeing the Triforce crest on it.

_That's right,_ he said to himself happily. _The Triforce of Power!_

He was amazed with the amount of things he had done for the first time in almost five hundred years ever since he met Ketura: he cared about someone else, and simple caring had turned to love, but now, he felt himself falling asleep.

--

He was awoken by someone pushing at his shoulders. His eyes snapped open, and Link was standing over him.

"What are you doing here?" asked Ganondorf.

"I was going to ask you the same question," said Link. "What happened to her?" he added, pointing to Ketura, an uneasy look on his face.

"She fell off of the Tower," answered Ganondorf. "At least she got the Master Sol back in its rightful place . . . you don't look to good, Link. What's up?"

Link sat down about three feet away from Ganondorf and told his story.

"Well, I get hit by Zant's magic attack, right? I'm out cold for a while, until Midna does what she can to heal me. At least I got to see her in her true form one last time, until I fall back under. I wake up a while later, and Midna's lying in the bed with me --" He stopped here to regain his composure. "She thought I was dead . . . and killed herself.

"I buried her out on a small hill outside of Kakariko Village, on the other side of the gorge. I then decided that I couldn't stay in Hyrule, what with the conspiracy failing and all, so I decided to go north and live my life out alone. When I was about to cross the bridge, I saw some dry blood on the ground, and, being my curious self, climbed up here to see what was going on."

"And you found us," said Ganondorf.

"Well, you," said Link. "She's pretty much dead, isn't she?"

"No. She finished off Zant and got the Triforce of Power from him. The Triforce of Power enables you to survive stuff that would otherwise kill." Ganondorf pointed at the wound in his chest.

Link didn't respond; Ganondorf didn't expect him to. He just stared at the bloody body of his daughter, trying hard to fight back tears. Had he finally begun to care upon seeing her like this?"

"She's my daughter," breathed Link. "All this time, I can't believe that . . . I was actually ashamed of her because of something she couldn't control. And just now, she just did some very noble things . . . ." He finally broke down, ducking his face into his hand and shaking with sobs. "If she were conscious, I'd apologize right now!"

"She'll wake up one of these days," said Ganondorf with a tone of light sarcasm.

"Can I - can I hold her?" asked Link, looking up.

"Sure," said Ganondorf, passing Ketura off to Link.

"It's weird. I haven't held Ketura since she was a baby . . . kids grow up so fast, you know?" Link said as he gazed at his comatose daughter. "They grow up even faster when you're not there to watch."

A half hour passed in silence.

"We should leave Hyrule," announced Ganondorf unexpectedly. "Zelda probably has soldiers out looking for me."

"What, Zelda's still alive?" Link jumped at the news. "We should definitely go."

"But to where?"

"Termina, maybe, if we can get through all of the neverending forest. No, not Termina; that would mean going halfway across the country. We should go north. I forget what country's up there, but there's a country. That's where I was headed."

"Let's go then," said Ganondorf hastily. "The army can't chase us across any borders, can they? Link . . . let me carry her." He took Ketura from Link and descended the ladder, Link behind him. They crossed the bridge, went to the northernmost tip of Hyrule past the Zora's River, and into the barren wastelands of the north.


	29. Twenty Eight

**TWENTY-EIGHT**

"Link, we've been going north for maybe four days now. There's nothing out here." Ganondorf complained as he surveyed the barren landscape around him. The ground was hard and dry, with little food or water between him, Link, Ketura, and Hyrule.

"We'll get somewhere eventually. Have some faith," said Link, shielding his eyes from the sun with his hands. "Now that I think about it, both Labrynna and Holodrum are this way."

"Link, Ketura's going to wake up before we get there, then she'll either die from blood loss or being lost out here," said Ganondorf irritably with heavy sarcasm.

"Give it a rest, will you? I know where I'm going," said Link confidently. "I am a hero, born with a natural sense of direction."

Neither of them talked for hours on end. Soon, they came upon a large ship sitting on the ground . . . but what was a ship doing in the middle of nowhere? The ship's body was painted black, and the unfurled sails were yellow with decorative indigo borders. As they got closer, they saw that the ship actually sat on a lake.

"Someone has to live on that ship," deduced Ganondorf. "Why else would it be in the middle of nowhere?"

A rope was tossed over the ship into the lake below; a hook was attached to it. Coming forward while holding onto the rope was a man in about his thirties, with pitch black hair and a long, thin head. He wore a long coat that was a lurid yellow color.

"HEY!" Link shouted. "You sir! Can you help us?"

The man on the ship looked at all three of them individually (spending an extra long time on Ketura) and called back, "If you can climb my rope!"

Link and Ganondorf went to the ship, waded into the water (which was quite shallow) and climbed the rope. Ganondorf had some trouble trying to climb the rope with one hand as the other arm was wound tight around Ketura, who hung limp like a rag doll. Soon, they were up, and they got a better look at the man who helped them up.

"I am Professor Octavius Bellum," said the man. "I'll tell my story later. First, what in the name of Nayru happened to her?" he asked, pointing at Ketura. "It's quite obvious she's died from losing a lot of blood -"

"She's alive," snapped Ganondorf.

"So sorry," apologized Bellum. "Anyways, what happened to her?"

"She fell off of the Tower," said Ganondorf. "I think her arm is broken."

"Her foot is, too," said Bellum. "Come with me, I'll fix her up."

--

"Hmm, let's see. This gash on her forehead . . . I think she might have fractured her skull a little teeny tiny bit. If I were you, I'd expect some memory loss. And the metatarsals in her left foot have snapped cleanly in two, and her phalanges are completely crushed. Going to take some time to heal . . . . Her arm is indeed broken." Bellum looked over Ketura's injuries. "How long ago did she burn her hands? Oh, that's not important. Still, how can someone lose so much blood yet still be alive . . . oh, the Triforce crest! So it's not all nonsense after all."

"What's all not nonsense?" asked Link. He, Ganondorf, and Ketura were taken to a cabin below deck. Ketura was laid down on the bed while everyone else sat on a chair around the bed.

"I, Link, am a man of science," said Bellum as he took a roll of bandages and started to bandage Ketura. "I'm not much for the religious stuff that Princess Zelda has forced upon Hylians. Instead of the magic of the Divine Trinity, my magic is that of learning and the minute happenings in nature. I discovered a power that I believe far greater than that of the Triforce, and when I presented it to the Princess . . . she had me banished!" Bellum finished setting her arm, wrapped it up very firmly, and moved on to the stab wound below her chest. "I even came up with this weapon that she could have used in war: hydramorte."

"What does hydramorte do?" asked Ganondorf.

Bellum sighed. "It's kind of like the opposite of water. Water nourishes and gives life to its drinker, but hydramorte drains the life from whoever drinks it. If you drink enough, I bet it would kill you. Perhaps, if you inhaled it while it was vapor, it would kill then . . . ." He finished up bandaging Ketura's arm, shoulder, leg, and ankles, then took another good look at her foot. "I think I can . . . ." He wrapped up each toe individually, very tightly, then repeated with the bones beneath the toes. "There, all fixed up."

"Professor," said Link, "I'd like to thank you for this."

"Call me Bellum," said Bellum.

"Do you mind if we stay until Ketura's completely healed?" asked Link.

"Oh no, stay as long as you like." Bellum said warmly. "I've been getting lonely."

"How does a ship this big end up in the middle of nowhere?" asked Ganondorf, looking at the bare walls of the cabin.

"I built it, of course. I found a group of trees the size of a small forest around this lake and decided that I should build a ship to explore the seas to the west of Termina with. Once I finished building the ship five years later, I remembered that in order to get to Termina, I'd have to go across Hyrule. So the ship is stuck on the lake, and so am I.

"Oh, but that's enough talking for now. You look hungry, Link. Come get a bite to eat."

"Sure, thanks," said Link, and he followed Bellum out of the cabin. Ganondorf stayed behind, sitting at the side of the bed that held the halfway-mummified Ketura. Even though there was nothing more that he could do for her, he felt drawn to her, like a magnet. Even though she was alive, he felt horrible when he looked at her.

_This is my fault,_ he thought solemnly. _The struggle against Zelda should be mine and mine alone, and too many other people have gotten involved and hurt. I have to finish this by myself._

_--_

After an hour, Ganondorf left the cabin that housed Ketura and joined Link and Bellum in a room below deck that was a combination of living area, kitchen, and laboratory. In the living area section, there was a coffee table on a large purple rug, and some overstuffed chairs surrounding it. The kitchen was basically a counter with a stove, oven, and some cabinets. Hanging on the walls were random objects that must have had scientific functions, for neither Link nor Ganondorf recognized any of them.

"So, you're Ganondorf Dragmire," said Bellum as Ganondorf entered the room and threw himself down on a chair. He nodded as Bellum spoke to him.

"I've heard so much about you," continued Bellum. "You, who have tried many times to conquer the world and failed. History has painted you as pure evil, but history is often slanted by those who write it. Do you consider yourself pure evil?"

"No, I consider myself good at heart like everyone else, but corrupted by the power I had and greed for more," said Ganondorf coolly. "My intentions were good the first time I tried to take over, for I was only trying to provide a better home for my people."

"And the other times?"

"I was apprehended by the army, and they put me away for five hundred years, along with my people. I saw firsthand the brutality that the Nohansen Dynasty of Hyrule is capable of, and it was only a matter of time until it became full-blown tyranny, like it is now. I only wanted to free Hyrule from that before it was too late. However, I went about it all wrong."

"I'll say," muttered Link.

"The legends are all true, then," said Bellum in awe. "And you have always been stopped by a boy garbed in green?"

"Yes, I have." Ganondorf said with a smirk. "But if I were to get the Triforce of Power back and go after Zelda, smiting the Royal Family once and for all, no young lad in green would come to the aid of Hyrule, I think. Perfect!"

"Planning another hostile takeover?" asked Link. "You know Ketura has the Triforce of Power, right?"

"I know; I'll wait for her to wake up, explain my ideas, and she should give it back."

"But won't she die if she gives it up?" persisted Link.

"She'll be fine."

"I don't think she will, Ganondorf. If you have ther Triforce of Power when you receive a mortal wound, you'll survive the wound. Won't she die once it's taken from her?"

"No, Link. If you get the mortal wound and have the Triforce of Power removed some time afterwards, you'll be fine. I know from experience."

"What, when I stabbed you with the Master Sword sixteen years ago?"

"No, your mistake was that you didn't leave it in me, Link." Ganondorf sighed. "Really, this is silly. I know what's best for my daughter."

"EXCUSE ME?" Link roared.

"Whoops, sorry," said Ganondorf sarcastically.

"_I'm_ her father, thank you very much. You probably shouldn't spend so much time with her from now on, I think."

"Why should I take orders from you?" demanded Ganondorf. "I know you feel threatened by me, but that's no reason to tell _your_ daughter how to live her life. Or mine, for that matter!" He got up and went to the upper deck.

"Thank goodness I don't have a family," said Bellum. "If that's how you all treat each other all the time."

Link rolled his eyes. "Ketura and I don't have the best relationship, and I recently resolved to try and fix it up. I guess it's too late, because she found him . . . and the feelings are there already . . . . when she wakes up, she and I are out of here. Ganondorf isn't welcome to come with us."

"You might also consider what she wants to do as well," added Bellum.

"True, true," agreed Link. "I like to think about how things would be if what was good prevailed. I'd be at home in Kakariko Village with my wife and Ketura. I'd be helping her with her schoolwork, teaching her the ways of the sword, even showing her what to look for in a future husband . . .we'd be a happy family . . . but all I can do is dream."


	30. Twenty Nine

**TWENTY-NINE**

Night fell on the world. While Ganondorf still lingered above deck, Link stayed in the living area as Bellum did some work with a dead Octorok ("Octoroks were never extinct, they just moved north," he explained). Link was advised to stay out of the cabin that held Ketura, for once she woke up, being immediately surrounded by people could stress her out.

"That's a pretty little daughter you've got there," commented Bellum as he dissected the Octorok.

"Thanks," said Link nonchalantly.

"What color are her eyes?" asked Bellum.

"Blue," answered Link. "Like mine. I have no idea where the red hair came from, though. Her mother was blonde."

"Did anyone in your ancestry have red hair, or her mother's?"

"My family is purely Hylian, and we were all blondes or brunettes. My wife's lineage is a mixture of Hylian and Sheikah, and Sheikah are typically blonde. So no, I don't think so."

"It's such a peculiar color of red, though. I've never seen red hair so bright before, it's the color of-"

"Twilight?" came a weak voice from the doorway.

Ketura was leaning on the doorway for support. She looked at her surrounding with tired eyes, and when she saw her father, she hopped on her good foot over to him.

"Where am I?" she asked him. "Where's Ganondorf?"

"Ketura, sit down. I want to talk." Link said, gesturing to the chair next to his. She sat down and leaned back into the chair. "We're somewhere far north of Hyrule. We all left to evade being captured by Zelda -"

"Do you mind not spitting on my rug?" interjected Bellum.

"And we came here," Link continued. "He's Professor Octavius Bellum, but he just goes by Bellum. He's patched you up to the best of his ability, and we're going to stay on his ship until you're fully recovered."

"Who's 'we?'" questioned Ketura with suspicion. "You, me, Ganondorf, and Midna?"

"Ketura, Midna killed herself," admitted Link; the look on his face hinted that he had difficulty breaking the news. "She thought I was dead."

Ketura drew her legs up onto her chair and into her body and wrapped her good arm around them. "I'm sorry, Dad. I liked Midna, and I know how much you loved her."

"And Ketura, I'm sorry," continued Link. "For the way I've treated you. You're my daughter, and I want to be your father."

Bellum chortled.

Ketura said nothing. She thought for a while, then said, "I accept your apology, Dad."

"I'm really proud of you, honey," - Ketura rolled her eyes at being called "honey" - "I want you to know that. Now, if you want to see Ganondorf, he went up on the deck."

"Okay." Ketura took some time to get up, but instead of trying to locate the stairs, she hopped over to Link. "Dad, thanks."

"Do you want a crutch, Ketura?" offered Bellum. He was holding a wooden crutch and was walking her way.

"That _would_ be helpful, Professor. Thank you," said Ketura as she took the crutch and moved around the room, looking for the stairs. "What is a ship doing out in the middle of nowhere?" she was heard muttering under her breath.

--

Ketura made her way up to the deck slowly, and surveyed her surroundings. Below a starry night sky, there was nothing for miles around but wasteland and the lake that the ship sat on. On the starboard side of the ship, a shape she recognized as Ganondorf was leaning over the rails, looking into the water below. She traveled over there to his side.

"What's in the water that's got you so interested?" she asked jokingly as she looked down with him.

Ganondorf chuckled. "Ketura Lykos, you are the strangest fifteen-year-old I've ever met. Well, I guess you're sixteen now."

"You haven't met a whole lot of sixteen-year-olds, have you?" she inquired.

"Not any that I've really cared about." He said as he swung his arm around Ketura and pulled her closer to him. "Normally, I'd tell someone not to jump off of a mile-hight tower, but in your situation, I don't blame you."

"So I didn't do anything reckless or dumb this time?"

"No, you did exactly what you were supposed to do."

Ketura leaned her head on his side and wrapped her good arm around his, dropping her crutch.

"I've never been so afraid before," said Ganondorf out of the blue. "Just seeing you, plastered onto the ground like that . . . the possibility that you could have died . . . it was too much for me to bear. I've committed my life to doing good now, and I felt that my efforts had amounted to nothing as I looked at you, almost dead in my arms."

"How does trying to kill a princess amount to doing good?"

"I'm not talking about her. I'm talking about you. Just now, I've figured out that the best thing I've done in my life is allowing you to tag along with me. It's a decision I'll never regret.

"I was a bit unsure at first, thinking you would just be a burden. But you acted independently, which surprised me, who's seen pretty much everything there is to see. Not to mention that I appreciated not having to go along my purpose alone, which I've now all but forgotten." He sighed. "I do not know if there is any way to redeem myself for what I have done in the past. But I want to finish the work of the conspiracy."

"How are you going to kill her if you're a wanted criminal?" asked Ketura.

"I need the Triforce of Power, Ketura," said Ganondorf. "Don't look at me like that. I know that the sheer power of it is thrilling, and it is the only reason you're alive right now, but you'll be fine without it."

"Are you going to give it back?" she demanded, as she broke free and proceeded to remove the Triforce of Power from her body. "You might go crazy and evil again with all this power."

"I'll risk it," said Ganondorf, taking back the Triforce of Power. "While I'm away, don't get yourself hurt more than you already are. I-"

"Don't you dare say _it_," warned Ketura, bending over to pick up her crutch.

"-was not going to say it. Instead, I advise you spend some time with your father. He's been feeling a little down after Midna's death . . . . _Now_ I'm going to _try_ and say it, if you're not so keen to interrupt me."

"I don't see any point in stating the obvious, that's all," said Ketura. "If you're going to be like me, and do this now without formulating a plan, I suggest you get to it."

Ganondorf held his arm out, his elbow bent so his forearm stuck straight up. "See you soon, Ketura," he said with a smile.

"I love you!" blurted Ketura.

Ganondorf laughed as he dissolved into tiny black squares and ascended into the night sky.

"Just thought you'd like to know," she said to herself, leaning against the rail and staring at the full moon.


	31. Thirty

**THIRTY**

Daphnes Nohansen was now the king of Hyrule. He couldn't believe it.

In order to become king, he had to marry Princess Zelda. He was a lifelong friend of the Princess, but he disagreed with the way she ran the kingdom. He didn't feel that it was right to regulate religion and censor books and art. He loved Hyrule with all his heart, yet he was a public figure now. He had no feelings. He was expected to be ruthless along with his wife.

--

Zelda and Daphnes were going to the chapel of Hyrule Castle to pray with the two sages, Laruto and Fado. Zelda took the Master Sword and the Waker with her down to the chapel to have them blessed by the sages.

The chapel had a high, arched ceiling and a magnificent stain-glass window in the shape of the Triforce. The room was constructed wholly of stone, with a dais and a pulpit at its center. Laruto and Fado stood on the dais with their musical instruments: a golden lyre and a blue violin, respectively. They were both playing a song together; Zelda recognized it as the song of the Royal Family, often called Zelda's Lullaby.

"Good day, sages!" she said majestically as she approached the two. "I feel deeply troubled right now and I need guidance. Will you two pray to Nayru on my behalf to see if my ill-feeling is in vain?"

"Yes, I shall," said Fado, straightening his green cap that sat on top of his golden hair. He played a tuning note on his violin, then began to play a fast aria. Daphnes used the Waker to conduct him.

After finishing his song, Fado knelt with his face towards the floor. "Din has spoken to me," he said. "She says that you have been a fool to deny her and Farore. As punishment, the kingdom will be ripped from you and you will die."

Zelda's face flooded with fear. She placed her right hand over her left, and let the Triforce of Wisdom hover over the back of her hand. She then used the Master Sword to split it in two.

"Daphnes," she said hurriedly. "I don't know if what the fool of a sage says is true, but please. Take these pieces. Keep one for yourself and give one to my nephew."

"Why your nephew?" asked Daphnes.

"He is not really my nephew," admitted Zelda. "He is my son. Illegitimate, yes, so he can have no claim to the throne. I gave him to my sister Bella to raise."

"Who is his father?" asked Daphnes, taking in a piece of the Triforce of Wisdom.

"Well, for a time, I was smitten with Link, and while he was in prison . . . ."

"No need to worry about Link anymore, Zelda. He's dead." Daphnes said.

"I know." Zelda turned to Laruto. "Laruto, pray to Nayru for me."

"Yes, Your Majesty," said Laruto obediently. Before she could play, several Darknuts and Moblins crashed through the stain-glass window and ran past them into the castle. Much to everyone's surprise, Ganondorf followed, wearing an angry and determined look on his face.

"Ganondorf?" asked Zelda, taking a step forward, baring the Master Sword. "Are you still going to fight me? Oh, I see - you're here to avenge that girl, aren't you?" She spoke to the sages next. "Sages! Pray for the power of the Master Sword!"

Casually, Ganondorf picked up Laruto and strangled her with one squeeze. He dropped her body, swiped Fado, and broke his neck. "What are you to do now, Zelda?" he asked her. For the Master Sword had lost its ethereal glow, and the wings of the hilt buckled in. Zelda looked at the Master Sword, and then at the dead sages lying on the floor. She still kept the blade pointed at Ganondorf.

"You fools! You can make a sword that can defeat me, yet its power is still dependent upon the gods!" said Ganondorf with fire. He ran to Zelda and yanked the Master Sword from her hands. With one swipe, he took off her head.

Daphnes let out a horrified cry. He slowly backed away from Ganondorf as he transformed into a very large beast that resembled a wild boar. The beast turned around and lept out of the broken window, taking out some of the surrounding wall. When Ganondorf had gone, Daphnes picked up the Master Sword and ran into the foyer of the castle.

The foyer was overrun by Darknuts and Moblins who had killed the guards on duty and some of the staff whose job it was to keep the castle in top shape. When none of these dangerous enemies were looking, Daphnes ran upstairs to the roof of the castle to see where Ganondorf had gone.

The great beast was completely leveling the town, and his army of horrible creatures was robbing and killing whoever they ran into. He watched with horror as his beloved Castle Town was being turned into a pile of rubble and dead bodies.

Daphnes dropped to his knees.

"Dear gods, please, stop Ganondorf!" he pleaded earnestly. "And watch over Zelda's soul."

Suddenly, the spare half of the Triforce of Wisdom flew from him out into the town below. He got up and ran to the parapet and saw the piece fly to the house of Zelda's sister, Bella.

_She must have known that he'd come back to get her,_ he thought.

Suddenly, there was a massive earthquake that wasn't caused by Ganondorf. The castle didn't collapse; it only shook a little. In a matter of seconds after the quake, many mountains shot up over the landscape: mountains as tall as the Tower of the Gods.

"That's an odd divine plan for salvation," he said under his breath.

--

Only two buildings still stood in Castle Town other than Hyrule Castle: Telma's Bar and the Alvarez household, which stood side by side. Ganondorf transformed back into a human behind the bar and slumped down into a crouch.

_What am I doing?_ he asked himself. _I was just going to kill Zelda and be on my way . . . it's too late. That horrid beast is part of who I am._

"Nathan, will you forget about your stupid paintings?" he heard a shrill female voice call. "As I prayed for help, I had a vision of mountains and a huge flood. We'll survive if we get onto a montaintop!"

"I'm coming, Mother. Hold on!" a boy's voice called. Ganondorf got up, looked their way, and saw the young man that had kissed Ketura at the ball. Nathan was carrying a large tote bag that was bulging every which way, and a canvas with a painting of . . . Ketura. Her beautiful face was nearly perfectly replicated on the canvas, and Ganondorf had forgotten how she had looked without blood all over her face or with any bandages.

"Wait for me! WAIT FOR ME!" called Telma's voice. She met up with Nathan and his mother, and they ran away, out of sight.

_I need to get out of here,_ Ganondorf decided. _But not yet. The king still lives._

--

Daphnes left the roof when the beast had disappeared from sight. He remembered the most sacred shrine in the castle, even more so than the chapel; getting there would be a chore, for the foyer where it was hidden was still occupied by monsters.

Holding the Waker and the Master Sword, he sneaked around the foyer to reach the statue of the Hero of Time. He pointed the Waker at the Triforce insignia engraved onto the floor below, and it glowed. As it glowed, the statue slid back, revealing a staircase. Before Daphnes descended, he looked over his shoulder, and he saw Ganondorf as a human. He scrambled down the stairs, making sure the statue slid back into place.

The shrine was circular, with colorful mosaics of the Six Sages of Old, and one of Ganon in the middle of it all. Five large suits of armor stood in a circle on the middle platform of the room, and in the center of this platform stood a pedestal fit to have a sword placed into it.

Daphnes rushed to the pedestal and raised the Master Sword to the ceiling. "Gods, I leave my fate in your hands!" he declared before plunging the Master Sword into the pedestal.

--

_I lost him,_ thought Ganondorf, along with a quick curse under his breath. The Triforce crest that was on the ground had vanished and become three triangular blocks on the floor.

Radiating from the statue of the Hero was a strange force that turned all that it touched motionless and colorless. Even the Darknuts and Moblins were frozen in place as the force touched them.

"He's enacted the seal!" Ganondorf realized. He ran out of the castle as fast as he could into the town, where the few survivors were looking at the phenomenon in the castle. As he finally put his brain into gear and teleported away, it started to rain.


	32. Thirty One

**THIRTY-ONE**

"Wow, it's sure raining up a storm," said Bellum as he looked out the porthole, chuckling at his pun. "I wouldn't be surprised by a flood. Good thing we're in a ship, huh?"

"It's not really going to flood, is it?" asked Ketura apprehensively. She had spent the day with Link, as Ganondorf had requested, and she couldn't help but wonder if it was raining this hard in Hyrule.

"I don't know," said Link. "But, as Bellum said, we're in a boat, so I'm not too worried."

Ganondorf rushed down the stairs, closing the hatch behind him. He was dripping wet, head to toe. "I swear, I didn't make it rain," he said as his eyes flickered towards Ketura.

"What about the earthquake?" Bellum brought up.

"No, I didn't do that either."

"No natural earthquake could make mountains like the ones that sprang up like the ones that were spawned by said earthquake."

"Maybe it was the gods," suggested Link.

"Gods?" questioned Bellum.

"This could have been some divine plan of theirs. Cause an earthquake that raises mountains, and then flood the world. The mountaintops could be islands on an ocean."

"Dad, that's crazy. Why would the gods do that to Hyrule?" asked Ketura.

"Gee, I wonder why as well," said Ganondorf in his typical sarcasm, yet it sounded downcast. He shuffled away; Ketura grabbed her crutch and followed.

She found him sitting on the bed in the cabin that she had woken up in, his head hung.

"Ketura, can I do anything right?" he said wearily.

"Why are you saying that? You did kill her, didn't you?" asked Ketura as she sat down next to him and wrapped her good arm around his.

"Yes, I did kill her. Then . . . I destroyed Castle Town. I didn't mean to at all. I don't know what came over me."

"It was the Triforce of Power, wasn't it?"

He nodded.

"Now, thanks to me, Hyrule is destroyed."

"Isn't that what you wanted?"

"No, it's what Zant wanted." Ganondorf spat. "I made it possible. Ugh . . . even in death, Zant's making his plans work out."

"Surely, people didn't pray to be saved from your fury?"

"A few did, yes. The gods have an uncanny way of answering prayer . . . If Hyrule ends up flooded and gone, it wasn't my fault. The people were destroyed by their own gods."

Suddenly, everything began to tilt. The ship was rocking back and forth every which way, accompanied by a clap of thunder.

"I guess the lake's overflowing," said Ganondorf, seizing Ketura as the ship rocked more violently. While he was still holding her, he got up and took a look out the porthole. Everything outside was water, whether it was rain or lake.

"Wow. It's raining cats, dogs, and cuccos," said Ketura. "I can't see anything but gray rain."

"Those gods must be serious about this flooding thing," said Ganondorf.

The ship continued to buck around to and fro. At one point, everything was turned vertical, on the brink of capsizing, but in the nick of time, it flipped back over. After an hour or so of rain, the sky cleared.

Now, the sight out of the porthole was that of a brilliant blue sky with some stray cumulus clouds with brilliant cerulean oceans below it.

"Congratulations, Ganondorf," said Ketura. "Thanks to you, the world has been turned into an ocean."

He chuckled. "I know you're kidding. Besides, once your bones are back in one piece, we have something new to explore. Just you and me." He set Ketura down on the bed and sat down next to her, an arm lingering around her waist.

"And my dad," said Ketura. "But you two have to get along, not just for my sake. Who knows, the world might become just a big barren mountain range next time."

"And your dad," agreed Ganondorf. "You're very lucky, Ketura. You've got two people in your life who love you very much. That's more than I've ever had,"

"How many?"

Ganondorf looked into her eyes and smiled. "One. And she's all I need."

"Oh, shut up, you make me sick," joked Ketura. "You're not in love with me or anything, are you?"

"Of course not!" scoffed Ganondorf. "You're only sixteen, and you need to end up with someone who's not trouble. But I will always be your friend, you can guarantee that."

"And I'll always be yours," returned Ketura. "Just don't freak out everytime I get hurt, all right? I'll be fine."

"Now that . . . no guarantees."

--

Later that night, Link and Ganondorf met in another cabin while Ketura slept.

"Ganondorf, I want to thank you," said Link seriously.

"For what? I've practically ruined your and your daughter's lives, caused your daughter to sustain multiple injuries, and launched an attack that caused the destruction of Hyrule. There's not much to thank, really."

"Nobody's life has been ruined. On the contrary, I think you've saved Ketura's," objected Link. "I had no idea that she would grow up smothered and isolated while I was in prison. We were both teenagers once, and you know that teenagers crave companionship. It's a good thing that she has you to be her friend."

"Well, thank you for thanking me," said Ganondorf.

"Also, could you leave the father stuff to me, her father?" requested Link.

"No problem, but I will freak out if she gets hurt, even if it's just a scratch."

Link laughed. "You're not so bad, Ganondorf," he yawned. "I think it's best we get some sleep now. We've got a few weeks of nothing ahead of us, depending on how fast broken toes heal." He threw himself down on one of the two beds. "Good night."

"Yeah, good night." Ganondorf left the cabin and went to Ketura's. He opened the door just enough so he could peek through at Ketura. She was asleep all right, and nothing was wrong.

Ganondorf then went up on deck to look at the ocean. In the distance, a black shape sat on top of the water line; most likely an island. Would there be anything to explore? It was all just endless seas.

As much as he loved Ketura and valued her friendship, Ganondorf had an uneasy feeling that she would have never been bitten, stung, burned, slashed, or stabbed if he had not led her into it.

_I'm no good for her,_ he thought sadly.

He was on his way back down when he saw a lifeboat tied to the mast. A pair of oars sat inside the boat.

_Should I? Would it do more harm than good? But . . . it feels like the right thing to do._

Ganondorf stole back below deck and found Bellum sitting in a chair. "Still awake?" he asked.

"Yes. Do you have a piece of paper and something to write with?"

"On the table," pointed Bellum.

"Thanks," Ganondorf took the paper and pen and wrote a letter:

Ketura,  
I want you to know that I love you very much  
and you have brought extreme joy into my life.  
However, I feel wholly responsible for your various injuries  
so naturally, if we hadn't met, none of it would have happened.  
So, to prevent any more trouble to come upon you, I left.  
I hope you understand why.  
I also hope that one day, we shall meet again.  
Your friend, Ganondorf.

Ganondorf took the letter and slid it under the door to Ketura's cabin. He then went back up to the deck, untied the boat, and tossed it into the water. He jumped into the boat, grabbed the oars, and rowed away.


	33. Epilogue

**EPILOGUE**

The following morning, Ketura woke up, grabbed her crutch, made her way to the door, and saw a piece of paper on the floor. She bent over to pick it up, and she went back to the bed to read it.

She couldn't believe what she was reading. It boggled her that Ganondorf felt responsible for her suffering, when everyone knew quite well that it was her own recklessness. Still, how could he go so far as to actually leave her?

Ketura sprang up, forgetting her crutch, and ran the best she could out of the room. As she ran, she placed all of the weight in her broken foot on her heel so it was the only part that touched the floor. She was on her way up to the deck when Bellum's voice stopped her.

"He's gone, Ketura. I watched him row away last night."

"No," she protested, her voice shaky. Before she knew it, tears were falling down her face.

"Hey Bellum," Link had now woken up and was joining them in the living area. "Did you ever see Ganondorf last night . . . what's wrong, Ketura?"

"He's gone," sobbed Ketura. "I can't believe it that he blames himself for everything that's happened!"

"Ketura," said Link soothingly as he gave his daughter a comforting hug. "I'm sorry. He couldn't have done this without good reason, and no doubt he thinks it's for your own good."

"It's not his fault my arm and foot are broken," said Ketura sadly. She broke away from Link and half-walked, half-limped up to the deck. She made it to the railing and looked out over the vast sea, checking to see if he was still out there. But all she saw was the shape of an island in the distance.

"Ganondorf . . . come back," she whispered, a surge of anger and sadness going through her body. "You promised me that I'd never be alone again."

Ketura broke down. She crouched over, rocking back and forth as she wept, wishing that somehow he would come back.

_It's unfair. I'm only sixteen. Why must I have suffered so much so early on in my life? My only friend has abandoned me for a dumb reason . . . ._

She finally wiped her tears away and stood up, and before going back below deck, she took one last longing look out at the sea.

"I'll come find you, Ganondorf. I promise you, I will."

**TO BE CONTINUED . . . .**


End file.
